


A War For Freedom

by Leo2025



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternative Perspective, Blood and Gore, Canon - Anime, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Death, Drama, F/F, F/M, Fear, Killing, Love, M/M, Mystery, Sadness, Violence, alternate outcome of original story, different character's POV
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-01 18:22:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 148,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5215991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leo2025/pseuds/Leo2025
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Humanity lives in a strange world. Forced to live behind three walls to defend themselves from giant, flesh eating titans is not the type of life a human wants. Some people are even crazy enough to go out beyond the walls to fight and take back the lost territory that was once theirs. And then there's one strange kid: Leo Syxton. As a little boy, he dreams about flying with the ODM-Gear so much, he even wants to risk joining the military for it. But after the loss of someone close to him and witnessing the titans up close, he wants to join the military to use the ODM-Gear in the Military Police instead of the Survey Corps. But the more time he spends in the military, the closest he gets to his comrades, making him feel unsure about who he really is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Morning of That Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, and welcome to my first fanfic. This is a little different than a normal fanfic. You see there are those fanfics where they take the AOT universe and place the reader into it, well it's just like that only with me. Yes, not the reader, me, the author. Well, more like a character based on me. He has the pontential to become his own standalone person. I've never seen anyone do this yet, and I had this idea for a long time. I'm gonna go through the story of AOT. I'm gonna cover a big part of the anime (ONLY THE ANIME) and maybe the OVA episodes as well.  
> Enjoy!

Leo loves sleeping. It makes him calm, it makes him feel relaxed and it gives him energy for a big part of his day. But waking up because of the sounds of his father making tools for the military and field workers is really frustrating to him. He was having a great dream about the prettiest blonde girl he has ever seen in his life and it got ruined.

'Oh my God! Couldn't he at least wait for me to wake up?!' He is annoyed, a natural reaction from him. He throws the covers off of him, sits up, lets out a big yawn. He sits on the edge of his bed and shakes his head for a few seconds. After that, he slowly stands up. He walks down the stairs while rubbing his eye and he sees his father working.

"Hi, dad." Leo says and his father looks up at him with a wide grin.

"Good, you're awake." He says looking at me with a big smile. "How was your sleep?"

Leo gives him an annoyed look as he grabs a flask of water of the counter.

"It was great, until you woke me up." Leo says and takes a huge sip from the flask.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that." His father says in a sarcastic tone as he knocks his hammer on the sword he is making.

"You knew that it would wake me up, right?" Leo asks as he twists the top of the flask back.

"Nooo." His father answers, keeping the sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, right." This just made Leo even more annoyed. "Anyways, what are you making?"

"You know, stuff." Leo's father, Jack, puts his hand on his hips and wipes his forehead.

"Isn't today suppose to be your day-off?" Leo asks.

"Yeah, but since I stayed here at my blacksmith place, I decided to work today and have the day-off tomorrow." Jack answers as he walks to a shelf to grab a book.

"Just like that?" Leo asks.

"Yeah." Jack opens the book to read something in it but Leo can't see what it is. He's never seen that book before. He doesn't put too much attention on it though.

"But today is suppose to be our together-time, remember?" He asks as he walks up to Jack.

"Yeah, I know, but don't worry." Jack closes the book. "The weather today is really nice, so we can go back home to Trost and tomorrow I take you out to fishing, okay?"

"Fishing? Really?" Leo is suddenly not feeling the father-son vibe he should feel.

"Hey, I'm telling you, fishing is great." Jack pats the top of Leo's head as he walks back to the unfinished sword.

"It's boring as hell." Leo says. He's not a big fan of fishing.

"It's not when you're out with the coolest person alive." Jack says, smiling to himself, feeling proud.

"But there's only one me on this Earth." Leo says with a large grin on his face and Jack's smile fades away instantly.

"You egotistical little brat." He says while laughing.

Brat. He always calls Leo that. In fact, he called him that so many times, Leo thought it was his actual name for a while. Thankfully, Jack told him his name before he started meeting people in Trost.

"Are you hungry?" Jack asks as he wipes his hand with a towel.

"Um, yeah, a-a little." Leo says as he rubs his stomach.

"There's food on the counter there." Jack points at the bucket of bread. "Enjoy."

Leo walks to the food, grabs two pieces of bread and eats them super fast.

"Well, that was enough for breakfast." He says.

"Don't you think you should eat a lot more?" Jack asks, and Leo notices the concern in his voice. 

"Nah, I'm fine. Don't worry." Leo holds up his hand as he devours another piece of bread.

"If you say so." Jack shrugs. "Suit yourself."

Leo sits down on a chair and looks around in the building. This is the place where his father works, even though they both live in Trost, his father only managed to get a proper job in Shiganshina. It looks pretty nice for what it is. A blacksmith shop. Or place. It's not actually a shop. Jack only makes the weapons here, and then delivers them to the military. The place is not the cleanest, either. Leo is lazy to clean, and Jack is too busy to notice.

"Did you hear the bells while you were sleeping?" Jack asks Leo as he eats a piece of bread, too.

"No. What bells?" Leo raises an eyebrow.

"The scouts." Jack answers in a quiet voice.

"The scouts?" Leo asks again.

"Yeah. You know who they are, right?" Jack knows the answer to this question, but he decided to ask anyway.

"Dad, there is not a single person on this planet who doesn't know anything about the scouts." Leo says, and Jack is not even surprised by this answer. "They are the ones who go out beyond the walls to retake the lost territories and fight the titans."

"You're damn right." Jack nods. There is something odd about him today which Leo notices right away.

"Why do you ask?" He asks carefully.

"Didn't you say that... you wanted to join them?" Jack looks at his son, who now understands why he is odd today.

"Y-Yes, I considered it. But why did you bring that up if you knew that?" Leo asks.

"You can join the military when you are 12. That's 2 years fom now. You should really make sure what you want before you join the military." Jack asks and there is now silence between them. They stare at each other for a while, before Jack drinks some wine from a bottle.

'I don't like the way he's talking. Something's going on here.' Leo thinks and decides to confront Jack.

"Do you know something that I don't?" He asks.

"What do you mean?" Jack asks back.

"You know. You sound like you're worried about something." Leo says and Jack just shrugs.

"I'm not. I just want you to be 100 percent sure about your future, that's all." He drinks from the wine again and offers it for Leo. 

"Uh... no, thanks." Leo hesitates before answering. 

"A'ight, whatever you think." Jack puts down the bottle in front of him.

"It's about the titans, right?" Leo asks and Jack doesn't look at him. He just stares down at the counter.

'Huh. Looks like I'm at the right place.' Leo leans forward and taps his finger on the desk.

"Dad?" He asks and Jack takes a deep breath.

"Look they are dangerous and you have no ide-"

"Dad, I know what they are." Leo interrupts Jack. "I heard a lot of stories about them. And I believe that I can fight them and help huma-"

"Do you really think that or you just like the ODM-Gear?" Jack cuts off Leo and he opens his mouth to say something but he quickly decides not to.

'Dammit! He knows?!' Leo tries to look not surprised, but if there is someone he can't fool, it's Jack.

"Uuuh... I uh...." He can't say anything. He doesn't want him to be right.

"There, you see?" Jack knows he has this argument won.

"Well... I-"

"Leo, look, you're smart. You know there has to be a better reason to join the scouts, other than just the ODM-Gear." Leo's thinking hard to bring something up for a counter-point, but there's nothing he can say to make his dad not right.

"Thanks, I take that into consideration." Leo says using sarcasm.

"Leo! Don't talk about it so casually!" Jack gets annoyed and walks up to Leo.

"Dad, listen!" Leo stands up. "We talk about it later, okay?" Jack opens his mouth to say something, but instead, just sighs. "Alright, I think I put on my normal clothes and I go out for a walk."

"A'ight, good idea. I just stay here and finish my work." Jack says and he goes to the back room, but before he closes the door he turns around and looks at Leo.

"Get home in about 4 hours. By that time I should be done, and then we go home, okay?" He says before closing the door.

"Okay." Leo answers as he walks up the stairs to put on new clothes. Leo quickly undresses his pyjamas and puts on his traditional outfit: A pair of black pants, brown shoes, and white shirt. And also a gray hat, just because he feels like it. Leo checks himself in the mirror and smiles. He is happy with what he sees. He's only ten, but acts like an adult, which could be both good and bad.

"Be safe out there!" Jack yells from the back room. "Watch out for bullies and thieves!"

"Understood!" Leo yells back and then closes the door. He packs a flask of water and some bread and steps outside of the building. The sun is shining bright, the weather is much better than it was yesterday. "Okay." He exhales. "Time for a walk in Shiganshina."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 preview: Leo's enjoying Shiganhsina. It's not like Trost, but it's something. But, during his walk, something horrible happens The scouts return from a mission of failure.
> 
> Chapter 2: Harsh Reality
> 
> Wow, it was shorter than I thought it was gonna be, but not bad for a start. If you enjoyed it, please leave a kudos and share your thoughts about the story and this whole idea I have in mind. The next chapter is gonna come probably on Monday or Tuesday, so stay tuned for that! I hope you have a magical day. :)  
> P.S.: BTW, that is not my actual real name. I just made that up to fit the other names in the story. It's not the best, but I don't mind it.


	2. Harsh Reality

'Wow, this town is actually not that bad.' Leo thinks as he walks on the streets of Shiganshina. He's been in Shiganshina only three times, but he's never gone for a walk. That's just his thing. Going for a nice walk. Usually his walk lasts about 3-4 hours. He's sometimes alone, but most of the time he's joined by his friends, so time passes fast. But now he's alone, on a new territory and he has no idea where to go. He walked for fifteen minutes now and he's just keeping his eyes out for interesting stuff. But so far, nothing. So he decides to sit down on a bench and think about what his father said.

'Why is he that worried? I know what I want. Yeah, he's right about the ODM-Gear, but deep inside I know there's another reason for me to join the scouts, I just need to discover it. Yeah, that's it! If I join the military I find out what I really want to do with my life. And seriously, the titans can't be that ba--'

All of a sudden, he hears the bell ringing. If he's right, that can only mean one thing.

'The scouts are back. I NEED to see them!'  And with that, he jumps up and goes in a hurry towards the gate where they come through into Shiganshina. He arrives pretty close to the gate and there's a bunch of people waiting for them.

'The scouts must be really interesting for the people. But I shouldn't be surprised, since they are the ones to go out, they are the ones that can make a difference. They-' He suddenly stops his wave of thoughts as he gets a closer look on them. There aren't many of them. It looks like a big part of them was wiped out and the ones who survived are hurt. Some physically, some mentally, some both. The look on the commander's face says it all. The expedition was a failure. They don't need to spell it out for the civilians. 'Man, this is terrifying. Now I understand what my dad meant when he asked me to be sure.'

"Moses?!" A woman's voice is heard from the crowd.

'What the hell?'

"Moses?" An old lady steps out of the crowd of people, and is looking for somebody.

"Beg you're pardon! Where's my son? He should be with you all. Oh, please, tell me he made it." The commander just looks at her with a sad expression on his face.

'Oh, no...' Leo has a guess about what happened.

"I wish I had better news." Says the commander. "Give it to her."

He orders one of the scouts. The lady takes a step back, with panic written all over her face. The scout steps in front of her and gives her something covered in a bloody blanket. She looks at the commander with a surprised look and takes off the blanket in front of everybody. We all see what it is. The lady looks at it and quickly covers it and starts crying loudly and drops onto her knees.

"I'm sorry." Says the commander. "It's all that was left of him."

'This is just sick. They brought back that poor lady's son severed arm. Who does that?!?!'

Everyone is shocked. No one knows how to react. And then the lady asks something really important while still crying.

"He... He did good, yes? He was brave." The commander is shocked by the question. "Tell me my son stood his gound to the bitter end, that his DEATH MEANT SOMETHING! TELL ME HIS SACRIFICE GAVE US A BETTER CHANCE!!!"

The commander thinks for a couple of seconds and decides to tell us the terrible truth.

"He was brave! But... his sacrifice meant nothing... just like all our losses. It's always the same." The commander collects every energy he has left and yells out what we really don't want to hear. "THE EXPEDITION WAS A FAILIURE! WE HAVE NOTHING! Your son died because of ME! I sent them to his death! I sent all of them to their death! AND THERE'S NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT! ALL OF THOSE SACRIFICES WERE FOR NOTHIIING!!!"

And then... silence. Not a word, not a noise. Nothing. No one reacts. How could they? How could THEY react? He just told them what happened. This is what's been going on for a 100 years. Nothing changed. Even Leo doesn't know what to think. He's never seen the scouts come back from an expedition before. He knew that things were bad, but this... this is horrible. After a few seconds, the commander stands up.

"Survey Corps. We are moving!" And they are starting to leave.

The lady is still crying, but no noise is coming out of her. She is emotionally broken. Two men come and take her away. She's still holding her son's arm.

'Maybe I really need to make sure about my future in the military. I want to use the ODM-Gear, but... I don't want to be devoured by the titans. But... what if I can be the difference? What if this is all gonna change when I join them? What if...' Leo decides to stop thinking about this, and then something happens a few meters from him.

"You little punk!" A man raises his voice at somebody. Leo raises an eyebrow as he takes a few steps to the direction of the sound.

"Hey, what are you doing?! Let me go!" Leo notices that it's a kid's voice.

"Yeah, that's right! You better run!" A man shouts after him.

'Hm, sounds like emotions are taking over the people. Well, time to go.' He start walking away when he hears someone calling his name.

"Leo!" He turn around and he sees a man behind him. "Wait."

'Who the hell is he?' Leo wonders as the man approaches him.

"Excuse me, but I want to talk to you." The man says.

"Who are you?" Leo asks, taking one step back.

"You don't remember? I'm the doctor who saved your father from illness 2 years ago." The man says and Leo needs a few seconds to recall.

"Oh, yeah. I remember." Leo says. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't want to talk here. Let's talk at the river." Leo hesitantly nods, but is suspicious about this guy. They don't even know each other personally, what does he possibly want to talk about that is so important? They arrive at the river, the man sits down and Leo lays down next to him. "So, what do you think?"

"About what?" Leo says as he rests his head on his hands.

"About what you saw. The scouts." The man asnwers.

"Why do you ask?" Leo is a little annoyed. Not only his father, but now this man is bothering him about the scouts. What are the odds?

"Because your father told me that you want to join them." The man says in a quiet and calm voice but that doesn't make Leo calm.

"Why do you care?!" Leo quickly sits up.

"Because your father and I are good friends and I don't want to see him in the state that he's in." Le raises his eyebrows after that statement.

"What do you mean?" He asks, this time he's a little more gentle with his attitude. 

"He is really worried. You are all that's left for him. He lost everyone and he wants to die while you are still alive and still with him." The man says without looking at Leo.

'What? I can't believe this.' Leo looks at the river and is totally confused.

"W-Wait! Are you serious?" Leo asks and moves on his knees.

"Yeah. Leo, I'm telling you. Don't join the Survey Corps." The doctor looks at Leo. "For your father's sake. If you did join and he found out that you died--"

"Who said that I would die?!" Leo asks, gaining some attention from the people around them.

"You don't know that!" The man bursts out. "And keep your voice down! You don't want people to look at you like some sort of hotheaded jerk."

"Why would I care about what they think?" Leo says in a quiet voice while he leans into the face of the doctor. "They are just fine the way they are. Just sitting on their ass, doing absolutely nothing. They don't want change, but I do. And--"

"You don't want change. You just want the ODM-Gear." Leo just stares at the man.

'How does he know about that?'

"Your father told me about your excitement over the gear." He says and sighs while shaking his head. "Look, throwing your life away for just a stupid equipment is dumb."

"It's not a stupid equipment! It's amazing! You didn's see it in action, so you don't know how it looks like." Leo is trying to defend his point but the doctor doesn't really care.

"I did see it in action and I don't think that it's a big deal." He stands up and wipes the dust away on his pants.

''You're wrong!" Leo yells but suddenly, the man grabs both of his arms and holds them tight. "Hey, let go of me!"

Leo tries to get away, but the grip is too strong, so after a few seconds, he has no choice but to give up.

"Look! Don't be stupid! Your father is a brilliant man, he doesn't deserve any more suffering. I knew your father for fifteen years and ever since your mother died, he changed. He loved your mother, more than anyone. But she's gone. For ten years, she's been gone. And every chance he has, he spends his time with you. For the last time, I'm telling you, don't join the Survey corps!" The doctor says, loosening his grip on Leo's arms.

'Wh-What? I... I don't...' Leo stares at the man blankly.

"Leo?" I can't say anything. Leo's speechless. He's got nothing. The doctor has just touched a nerve.

"Leo, say something!" The man is now a bit worried. "Did I say something bad?"

Leo turns his head up to look into the man's eyes, anger oozing out of him.

"Something bad? How DARE you to ask that question?! You dare to talk about my father like that and then you mention my mother?! How FUCKING DARE YOU?!" Leo yells and then takes advantage of the doctor loosening his grip. Leo frees his arms and punches him in the face and runs away.

"Hey! Come back!" The man shouts, but Leo doesn't even look back.

Leo runs for like two minutes, then stops to catch his breath. He looks around, checking if he is followed or not. He isn't. I'm fine. He lets out a big sigh and wipes away his tears. For the first time in his life, he's mad and sad at the same time. It's not a good feeling.

"Why? Why is everyone against the idea of me joining the scouts? Or am I wrong and really stupid?" Leo sits down at the wall of a building. "Does the pure idea of me flying through the air with the help of the ODM-Gear really blinds me?" Leo drinks from his flask before continuing his monologue. "Maybe they're right. Maybe not. They only know about the terror of the titans. They don't know what kind of soldier I could be. Maybe... I... tch. Whatever. I'm done thinking about this."

Leo looks up and he sees the tower of his father's blacksmith shop. He's only a few minutes of walk away. He stands up and decides to go home. Today was enough Shiganshina for him. This day just can't get any weirder.

"What's wrong, heretic?" Or can it?

"What's that?" Leo asks and looks around. The voice is not far from him, and judging by what Leo heard, it seems like the guy is not the kindest person alive.

"Or does your philosophy says it's wrong to fight back, too?" Leo turns the corner and sees three people harassing a blond little kid. Or more like bullying.

"As a matter of fact, it does!" Says the blond. "I'd rather take a few hits than brawl like a beast."

'Oh, the kid is that type.' Leo moves his head out and just watches what's happening.

"Oh, so now I'm a beast?" Asks the bully that's holding the kid to the wall.

"Take a good hard look at yourself and tell me you're not acting like one! You resort to violence 'cause your brain is the size of a walnut! So beat me all you want, I've already won!" The three bullies look surprised. The kid's right, they just don't want to admit it.

'They don't see me, yet. Maybe I could sneak up on them. Not the smartest thing to go against three bullies, but I have to do something.' Leo clenches his fist and patienly waits for an opportunity.

"Yeah, well, you know what?! I'm a sore loser!" Says the bully and he goes for a punch.

"Back off!" As Leo was about to help, he hears someone. Someone who has a familiar voice.

The three bullies and Leo look over at the direction of the sound and they see a kid running towards them.

"It's Eren!" One of the bullies states.

"Hey, would you look at that? Back for more?"

"You would think that he learnt his lesson."

"Leave him to me. Huh?" Suddenly a girl appears behind the boy.

"Oh crap! She's with him!" And just like that, the bullies turn around and run past Leo, completely filled with fear. Leo's not even sure if they noticed him or anything. Leo turns around and looks at them, and is confused about this whole situation.

'Wow. That was odd.' The boy and the girl stop in front of the blond.

"Hehe. That's all it takes." Says the boy while heavily breathing. "One look, I'm just that scary."

'Wow. Someone is delusional.' Leo looks back at the brunette.

"Well, I don't think that's the case. They ran away because they saw Mikasa." Says the kid while trying to stand up but fails.

"Where did they get you, Armin?" Asks the boy while reaching out his hand to help up his friend, but the kid refuses.

"Thank you, but I can stand up on my own." Armin says.

"Oh, okay." Armin, with struggles, stands up while assisting himself with the wall. They still didn't notice Leo, but he's far enough to just slip away unnoticed. Leo looks at the alley on his right where he needs to go and with slow steps, he makes his way towards it, walking through the road. Not the best choice, but this is the only way, because he doesn't want to go on a detour.

"Are you okay?" Eren asks Armin again.

"I told you, I'm... fine..." Armin answers back, but his voice fades away strangely. Like the way someone notices something while talking.

'Oh shit.' And Leo knows damn well what that means.

"Hey, you!" He hears Armin calling out to him.

"Goddammit!" He curses under his breath and stops himself and looks back at them slowly. This situation is pretty awkward. He was almost there, but seems like this isn't his day. Eren and Mikasa look at him as well, and Leo just waves at them, in a pretty cocky way, which did it's job well. It angered Eren.

"How dare you wave at us like that?!" Eren says harshly as he steps forward.

"E-Eren?" Armin asks surprised.

"Armin just suffered a beating. Show some respect!" Eren demands but Leo isn't the type to back down.

"Maybe you should show some respect to the one who practically saved your friend from getting beaten up even more." He says.

"What?!" Eren asks.

'Okay, time to test him.' Leo smirks.

"I'm just saying. If it wasn't for your scary friend next to you, those bullies would have beaten the crap out of the both of you." Leo points at Mikasa, who stares blankly at him.

"What did you say?!" Eren is angrier now.

"But hey, I have an idea. Maybe you shouldn't leave your poor friend alone out here if he gets beat up so easily." And now Eren's _really_  angry.

"Alright, that's it! I'm gonna kick your ass!" And he starts walking towards Leo.

"Eren, wait!" Armin pulls him back. "Calm down, alright? Let's not lose our heads here."

"How can I not kick his ass after what he said?!" Eren aggressively pulls out his hands out of Armin's grasp.

"Eren, please, li-"

"No, Armin! He needs to be taught a lesson." And they are just arguing and arguing and arguing. But this gives Leo time to get a good look on them. He looks at Mikasa first.

'If caught her name correctly, her name's Mikasa. She didn't say anything yet. She must be the one who throws punches first then asks questions. The bullies got scared and ran away like pussies when they saw her, she must be strong. And I have to admit, she is pretty cute. Intimidating, but cute.' Then he looks at Eren who is still arguing with his friend. 'Eren. A hotheaded jerk. Seems like he's overprotective towards his friend. He looks like the type of guy who punhes first then doesn't bother to ask questions. He talks the talk, but I don't think  he walks the walk. Now that I recall, he might be that kid that got called a punk by a man back when the scouts left. Unique and unmistakable voice.' Then finally, Armin. 'Hmmm, Armin. Looks like a girl, but has somewhat of a male voice, so I don't think it's a she. Bullies wouldn't beat up a girl. They are not THAT type of animals. He looks like a complete nerd. They are the ones who the bullies usually target. Not strong, but based on what I heard, he has inteligence. But now that I think about it, he looks familiar. Have  I met him before? '

He keeps staring at Armin but doesn't realize that Eren and Armin are done arguing and Armin notices Leo staring at him.

"Wha... What are you s-staring at?" Leo quickly shakes himself back to reality.

"Oh, I uh... I was just... Nothing. Just thinking, that's all." He can feel his face burn up in embarrassment.

"What were you thinking about?" Mikasa asks him in a really intimidating way.

"Not important. But anyway, I should go now. It was an interesting experience meeting you. Bye." He says and waves while turning around.

"Wait!" He hears Armin's voice.

"What?" He turns only his upper body back.

"At least tell us your name." Armin says and Leo raises his eyebrow in confusion.

"I don't care what his name is! If he wants to leave then just let him!" Eren raises his voice again.

'Oh my God! This guy is annoying.' Leo clenches his fist and every fiber in his body is just screaming him to punch Eren but he keeps his cool.

"Well maybe you don't care, but I do." Armin shuts Eren up and then looks at Leo. "So, tell me, please, what's your name?"

Leo's shocked by Armin's curiosity but he decides to answer his question anyway.

"Well, If you really want to know..." Leo turns around and looks Armin in his eyes. "I'm Leo Syxton."

"Syx... ton..." Armin wonders as he stares at Leo. "I've never seen you around here. Are you knew?"

"No, I don't live here." Leo holds his hand up.

"Then what are you doing here?" Eren asks him, he's a bit more calm this time.

"Do you see that tower over there?" Leo asks and points at the tower of his father's blacksmith shop. "That's where my father works. Yesterday, he brought me here to help him, but beause of the bad weather last night, we couldn't go home to Trost, so we stayed here. And then I went for a walk and now here I am."

"Is that it?" Mikasa asks.

"Yep." Leo answers.

"Well, okay, I'm uh... I'm Armin Arlert. This is my best friend, Eren Yeager and she is his adopted sister, Mikasa Ackerman." Mikasa nods at Leo, no reaction from Eren though. They stand there for a couple of seconds in an awkward silence. Leo's still thinking about Armin.

'Where did I meet him?' Leo can't wrap his head around this, so he decides to just ask.

"Excuse me, Armin, but uh... have we... met... before?" Leo rubs the back of his head while asking.

"Wha-what? What do you mean?" Armin is caught off guard by Leo's question.

"You look familiar, that's all." Leo answers.

"N-no, I don't think so. I would remember a face like yours." Armin quickly realizes what he said and puts his hands on his mouth and Leo looks at him surprised, and a bit concerned.

"Whoah, what do you mean by that?" Leo steps closer to Armin.

"No-nothing! That didn't come out right. I just wanted to say that I... uuuh... I..." Armin stutters and his face is red. Leo stares at him for a couple seconds and then decides to not wait for an answer.

"You know what? Forget it, it doesn't really matter." Leo waves him off and Armin calms down. "I should go now. Again, it was nice meeting you, bye."

He turn around and starts walking away but then realizes that he said something that he should apologize for.

"Oh, and one more thing." He turns back to look at Armin right in the eye again. "I'm sorry for what I said about you."

Armin looks at him while not understanding what he means.

"About me?" Armin asks.

"Yeah, you know, the whole... getting beaten up easily thing?" Leo says in a calm voice.

"Oh, that? Yeah..." Armin rubs the back of his head and looks slightly down at the ground.

"I didn't mean that. I just wanted to see how Eren would react to that." Leo says with a smile and points at the brunette.

"Oh, how kind of you." Eren says while trying to keep himself calm.

"Thank you." Leo says, keeping the sarcastic smile on his face.

"So, you didn't-"

"No Armin, I didn't mean it. I would never say anything like that about you." What Leo says makes Armin confused.

"What? Why?" He asks.

"I heard what you said to those idiots. You stood your ground well. And I respect that." Leo smiles at Armin.

"Oh, uhhh... thank you." Armin blushes a little, which he tries to hide, but Leo notices it.

"Oh will you guys stop it?!" Eren is really annoyed and Leo has absolutely no problem with that.

"Hehehe. Okay, mister tough guy." Leo says, totally teasing Eren. He just looks away, but Leo can hear him murmur something to Mikasa and she just brushes him off. "Alright, now I leave for sure. My father's probably waiting for me now. Bye!"

And with that, Leo turns around and walks away.

"Bye!" Armin says. Eren and Mikasa don't say nothing, however.

'Hm, Armin's so nice. Well there might be a reason for me to take another walk the next time I'm in Shiganshina.' Leo looks up to see two birds flying over his head. He finds them rather strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 preview: After meeting with Eren, Armin and Mikasa, Leo heads home. There he sees something that makes him feel strange. Then, as Leo's feeling the safest, humanity recieves a grim reminder.
> 
> Chapter 3: Grim Reminder


	3. Grim Reminder

Leo gets back to his dad's place. He knocks on the door before stepping inside.

"Dad, I'm home!" He says, but doesn't get any response. "Dad?" Nothing. "Dad, where are you?"

He gets no answer. He rubs the back of his head while wondering where Jack could be.

'If I remember right, he went to the back before I left. Is he still in there?' He opens the door that leads to the back, but Jack's not in there. Leo checks around for a note if he left for a while, but that's not the case. 'Maybe he's in the tower.' Leo walks up the stairs to look for his father. He checks the first room, which is just a wardrobe. The second is a room filled with books. It's Jack's reading place. 'Huh, I've never been here before.' Jack really likes books. Leo thinks that maybe a little too much. Leo doesn't mind books personally, he's just not obsessed with them. They're fun, he thinks. He continues his search for Jack by opening the next door. It's the bathroom.

"Oh my God!" Leo grunts with his teeth closed. He's getting a little annoyed. "Dad, are you here?" Silence. "Hm, maybe he's sleeping. I check his room." As he's about to close the door, he notices a drawing hanged on the wall of a person. He takes a closer at it. It's a drawing of a woman. "Was this drawing always here?" The more he looks at it, the more uncomfortable he feels. This piece of art just has a strange present about it. Or something like that. "Who's this woman? Is this... mother?" He quickly shakes his head after that thought. "No, that can't be. My dad would never hide this from me. Why would he do that? Or maybe... he drew this today!" He thinks about that for minutes that felt hours. Now everything has come full circle for him. "So, I made him draw a picture of mother. Well, I'm not that sad about it. At least... I, kinda know how she actually looked like."

Leo stares at the picture for a little while longer, but then decides to finally leave the bathroom and walk to his dad's room. He open the door and bam, there he is. Jack Syxton, sleeping on his bed. Leo smiles at his dad, then slowly closes the door, but leaving it open for just a little to let some fresh air in.

'And now what? There's nothing I can do here.' Leo wonders as he walks back down the stairs. 'Hm. Another walk wouldn't hurt.'

Yeah, another walk. That's the best he can do. He grabs some food and his flask and steps outside. The clouds are hiding the sun from time to time. It's just not that bright anymore. He walks for about one minute when he hears something, which he considers to be the most annoying shit ever.

"Listen up!" A wall-worshiper.

'Oh no...' Leo facepalms and rubs his eyes under his glasses.

"The walls were made with the wisdom of God!"

'Stop it!'

"The walls are the work of God!" 

'Idiot...'

"No matter the person, none may desecrate the walls!"

'If they don't shut up, I'm gonna punch them. Maybe that will get their head straight.' Leo walks away from the voice as fast as he could and goes into an alley to let out some steam.

"These fucking wall-worshipers! Or whatever they called. They are just the worst. Talking about the walls like they are some kind of godlike miracles. I mean, they did protect us for this long, but it was US, the human race, who built them. Not... God. Or his angels. Or his fucking priests. One day I'm gonna lose my temper and just beat them to shutting up once and for all. But until that day, I just have to listen to them. I could try to not pay attention to them, but they are just SO loud, it's impossible." Leo sighs as his rant comes to an end and carries on with his walk, when he suddenly realizes something. "Hey, maybe I can find Armin. I would like to talk to him without the others there. But where could he possib--"

Leo's walking up some stairs when suddenly, he feels the ground shake as a thunderbolt strikes down somewhere not far from him. He slips and falls down the stairs landing badly.

"Ow... what the hell..." He groans painfully as he grabs his side. "What was that?" He looks around to see what's going on and sees some people standing and looking at one direction. "Uhhh, excuse me! What's going on?"

"THE WALL!" Someone shouts and Leo turns his attention on the wall and he is shocked by the view.

"Oh God..." A hand. Grabbing the top of the wall. And then, a head appears. "What? That's impossible! That wall is fifty meters high." Is this real? Is he dreaming? A titan is sticking it's head over the wall. It can see the whole city. And then another shake and he sees an explosion at the wall. Some rocks and debris is falling towards them. "Holy--"

He just barely avoids a large one, but others are not so lucky. They got crushed by the falling rocks.

"What the hell?" Leo hears a man's voice.

"It kicked a hole into the wall!"

"WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!"

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!"

"MOMMY!"

"GRAB THE CHILDREN!"

"RUUUN!"

'I have to get dad. FAST!' Leo turns around and starts running like hell, but notices that he can't see the tower. 'What the hell? I should see it from here.' And then a sudden realization strikes him. 'Oh no.'

"Daaad!" He screams as he runs.

'This can't be happening. I can't see the tower. Maybe I'm blind, maybe I went the wrong way. Maybe--'

"THEY'RE INSIDE!" A soldier shouts.

'I need to move fast. Just be alive. Please!' Leo turns the corner and faces with a terrible horror.

"Wha-wha-... no... no..." The shop is in ruins. It's been crushed by the debris. He runs to the ruin and sees an arm sticking out.

"D-dad? Please... dad? Dad? DAAAD?!" He can't believe it. "Dad, are you alive? Answer me, damnit!" He gets no answer. "Dad?" Nothing. He tries shaking his hand. "Dad, wake up. You can't be dead. Not now. Not yet!"

He's dead. There's nothing he can do. Jack's gone. Leo, however, tries to get him out of there, but there's just too much debris. He's panicking. He starts shaking. He's in complete shock.

'I... I'm gonna...'He moves to try from a different angle. But... no use. He's so busy trying to get his dad out, he doesn't notice the titans moving around him. But then, he hears louder footsteps. He turns around and sees a titan looking right at him. Leo's eyes widen, as the monster approaches him. Leo screams in fear, but is too scared to move. He is petrified. It's only meters away from him. Leo falls back on his back and slowly starts crawling away, but he stops, due to him being terrified. The titan is staring at him as it walks up to Leo. He can't move. He's traumatized by fear.

'It's... a... titan...' He wants to move, but can't. 'What is... this? W-w-wh-why can't I... move?' Then the titan starts reaching for him. It's hand is only inches away. 'This... is... i-it. T-this is... the... end.'

It almost grabs him when he feels someone pulling him away.

"Got you!" He says. Leo doesn't know who he is. He can't see him properly. Suddenly, Leo's feeling himself floating in the air. "Don't worry kid! You are gonna be just fine." And Leo hears the sounds of the ODM-Gear. A soldier is carrying him through the air. And then all of his thoughts just crash into each other, making him really panicked. He can't believe what he's seeing. He can't believe anything. The titans are inside. And his dad is gone. The soldier carries him onto the top of the wall and sits him down. "Hey, kid! Are you alright?"  Leo can't answer. His brain just doesn't want to do anything. "Kid!" The man is clearly panicking. He's feeling the same way all of the people in Shiganshina do. Who can blame him? Who expected this to happen? "Hey, look at me. Look at me!"

Leo tries his best, but he's totally frozen. Fear took over him. Even breathing is difficult for him

"Hey, where did you get the kid?" A second soldier appears.

"He was out there alone. Almost got grabbed by a titan. Thank God I was able to save him just in time." The man wipes away the sweat from his forehead.

"He looks like shit. Is he okay?" This question angers the man who saved Leo.

"Asshole! Of course he's not okay!" He shoves his comrade away. "He almost died! He was inches away from a titan!"

"Stop yelling..." Leo says queitly and the two men can't hear him.

"Well I'm sorry that I care about him!" The argument continues.

"I mean it..." Leo's shaking, feeling both anger and fear.

"If you really care, then don't ask stupid questions!"

"Stop..." Leo's eyes are starting to twitch.

"You two!" Someone else joins them on the wall. "Stop talking nonsense and help us!"

"But sir! We need to get this kid to safety!"

"No! I need to get him to safety, NOT you!" The man who saved Leo gets into his comrade face.

"Oh, just because I asked a stupid question?"

"Exactly!"

"I can't..." Leo can't breathe properly.

"Stop being so immature!"

"Fuck you!"

"Both of you! Shut-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" He couldn't hold it in anymore. They all look at him, surprised by his outburst. "SHUT UP! STOP YELLING! STOP, STOP, STOP, STOOOP!!!"

He completely lost it. He doesn't know who he is right now. He just doesn't feel the same.

"Whoah, kid. Okay, uhhh... we... s-stop..." The soldier that saved Leo says while being careful with his words. Leo's broken. He can't move, can't breathe properly, can't think. All he can do is to just sit and cry.

"Alright. Get him on the boat. Now!" The commanding officer orders.

"Yes, sir." Leo's savior salutes, then slowly picks Leo up.

"What should we do, sir?" The other one asks.

"Ready the cannons! We must keep them away from the inner gate." The leader orders. The soldier takes Leo to the boat. A lot of people are waiting there. Maybe even a little too much. How many have made it out?

"Hey, wait!" The soldier asks his fellow comrade. "I have a kid."

"I'm sorry man, but it's full. He can't get--" Then all of a sudden the soldier grabs him.

"Listen, you shithead! This kid has just gone through hell. He was inches away from a titan, but I managed to save him. So don't argue with me and let him up!" The other thinks about it for a second.

"Well, I don't... know..." 

"Please!" He straight up begging at this point. The soldier takes a look at Leo. Then after a few seconds of examining him, he has an answer.

"Okay, he can get in. But only him!"

"Okay, thank you!" He says and lets Leo go and tilts Leo's head to face him. "Look kid! I'm gonna leave now. You just get on the boat and get to safety, okay?"

Leo's still not able to answer him. And the sounds of cannon fire are not helping him at all. They help him get on board and he sits down next to some kids who are equally terrified. Of course, the difference is that most of them probably didn't even see the other titans, let alone being so close to them. The soldiers remove the plank that Leo crossed to get on the boat and the people are not happy.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" A man asks.

"What are the rest of us are suppose to do?!"

"I'm sorry, but there's not enough room." A soldier tries to explain.

"You can't do this! At least let our children on!"

"Look, there's nothing we can do. Push off!" He orders and just like that, the boat is moving.

Leo's still struggling with breathing correctly. He's so close from passing out. He hears more cannon fire, but this one sounds a bit different. When did they get a new cannon, Leo wonders. And he hears those sounds more and more and more. Are those really the cannons? The sounds are becoming louder and louder. Those are not cannons, they are footsteps. And then a huge explosion, at the inner gate. Leo turns his head towards the inner gate and sees a titan. Different than the others, this one seems to have armor on it. That would explain how he was able to break through. The inner gate is finished. There's nothing that can hold the titans back now.

"They... they... th-the-... b-b-ro-... throu-..." And then everything fades to black. Leo passes out due to shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 preview: After the Shiganshina attack, Leo wakes up in a hospital, where he meets a strange figure.
> 
> Chapter 4: The 'Nurse'


	4. The 'Nurse'

Leo's standing on a field. Alone. Cold. Emptiness surrounds him. He doesn't know where he is, but... he feels like he's been here before. Is he dreaming? Has to be. He doesn't remember waking up today. He just opened his eyes and he was standing here. And besides, he wouldn't stand on a field like this without a good reason. He looks around for something or someone. He tries to walk, but can't move. He hates these kinds of dreams. He can feel the cold wind gently moving across his hair, and it slightly brushes his face. Suddenly, a human appears, their back turned at Leo. It's blond, short and to Leo, they look really familiar. They start to turn around and Leo can feel fear taking over him again. Fire starts to spread behind him. He can see the human's face. It's covered in blood. Everything starts to shake. Leo faces with a terrifying smile.

"AHHH!!!" He wakes up sweating and breathing heavily. It takes him a few seconds to recollect himself.

'What was that? This dream... It was the same I had yesterday, only it ended... horribly.' He cleans his eyes and looks around. It seems like he's in an infirmary. 'How did I get here? And most importantly, how long have I been here?'

Suddenly, the door opens. A nurse looking woman comes in, giving a worried look. She looks like she heard Leo.

"Are you okay?" She asks. "I heard you scream."

Leo swallows before answering.

"I... I uhhh... It's just a bad dream. Don't worry." He stares at her. It was a good enough answer for her, he guesses.

"Yeah, nightmares are normal after horrible events." She just HAD to say that. It makes Leo shiver a bit. He's trying to recall some memories, but it's no use. All of a sudden, he feels her hand touching his forehead.

"You don't have a fever, thankfully. No broken bones, either. You are healthy." She says and her tone makes Leo suspicious.

'Why is she talking like that?'

"O-kaaay... That's... good... I guess..." Leo tries to have a normal voice, but it sounds so scared and hopeless. She grabs his hand.

"Calm down, will ya? You're fine. It's safe here." She really cares, but sounds a bit clueless for some reason. They sit in silence for a few minutes before Leo decides to ask the most important question.

"Excuse me, but may I ask that how did I get here?" She lets go off Leo's hand and adjusts her glasses.

"Well, when the last boat arrived, I went over there to check if somebody is injured or something. When I got there, I heard some kids and adults call out that you are passed out. I quickly got to you and just picked you up and brought you here. I gave you proper treatment and now we are here." She gives him a small smile after saying that.

"That's it?" She nods. "Well, I should've known that... it was... this... simple." Leo swallows hard once again. The woman just looks at him. Leo wishes he knew what she's thinking right now. He can't make out anything by looking at her face. "So... I guess that I owe you one."

"For what?" She asks.

"For getting me in a better shape, duh." Leo answers, in a bit of a douchie way.

"You don't owe me anything. I'm a nurse. Helping people is just what I do." She gives Leo another smile, but Leo can't help but to feel a little awkward.

"Well, okay. But you said it, not me." Leo says and that got a little chuckle out of her.

"You are really different than the other 10 year olds that I treated today." She says, looking out the window.

"What do you mean?" Leo asks. She caresses his head.

"You aren't scared at all. Or you are, and just don't show it. Which is even more impressive." Leo starts to shake a little. Perfect timing. "Oops. I think I jinxed it." Leo gives her a smile. He looks at my shaking hands and closes his eyes, trying to calm down. "I'm sorry for this, but I want to ask you something." She sounds nervous. I just nod my head, signaling her to ask. "Can you... tell me... what happened? In Shiganshina, I mean?"

Leo starts getting flashbacks in his head. About his dad. The titan. The soldiers. Him yelling at them. He doesn't feel anything though. No fear, no sadness, nothing. And that is even more terrifying. But a tear manages to escape out of his left eye. She notices, pulls Leo's head closer and wipes it away with a tissue. Leo opens his eyes.

"I... really don't want to talk about it." He doesn't see her face, but he can tell that she is dissapointed a bit. He finally looks at her. "You understand, right?"

She nods. And then silence descends into the room for about... a minute or two. Leo's thinking hard right now.

'What's next for me? Father's dead. I have no one left. I have to live alone from now on. And after what I witnessed, I don't think I want to jo--'

"I understand." She knocks him out of his thoughts. "But there are important things to take care of right now."

"Like what?" He shoots his head up to look at her again.

"Like what's going to happen to you after you leave." She is really worried about him. It's a bit creepy to Leo.

"What do you mean?" He asks, a bit more serious this time.

"Well, there are a lot of refugees and there was food shortage way before you came here. But now, things will be a lot more difficult." She says which makes Leo raise his eyebrow.

'She thinks I'm a refugee. How nice.' Leo looks down at his hands and twiddles his thumbs.

"Oh, right. You don't know it." I say while looking away.

"What do you-"

"I'm not a refugee." Leo returns his look to her. "We are in Trost, right?"

She nods, still giving a confused look.

"Well, you should know that I live here. I'm not from Shiganshina. I was there only for a... visit." Leo struggles a little to get the words out and swallows a little.

"Well, if that's the case, then we need to find your parents. Do you know where they could be, by any chance?" A sudden shock strikes Leo, but he manages to stay in control. "What's wro-"

"My parents..." He interrupts her. "They are-"

He stops himself immediately.

'No, I can't tell her the truth. If I do, then she will want to take me under her wings. I can't let that happen. I'm not going to be under anyone's command. Not now, not ever.'

"They are what?" Leo tries to do the most convincing face he can, hoping that it would work.

"They are... probably at home." He has to hold himself back hard from crying. "Don't worry about them. When I'm done here, I go home right away."

"Are you... sure that you don't want me to look for them?" The nurse suggests and Leo takes a deep breath.

"Yes, I am." He says, probably a lot faster than necessary. And he's sweating like a horse. Maybe he's trying too hard. She looks like she isn't fooled easy.

"Fine by me, if that's what you think is best. But you shouldn't go home alone. I'd like to-"

"Please no!" She raises her eyebrows at Leo's outburst. "Oh... I mean... you really shouldn't walk me home. You know... I live in a... strange neighbourhood."

She puts her hands on her mouth while inhaling in that shocked way.

"Y-You mean... in a really strange neighbourhood?" She sounds wierd, and Leo can't help but notice some sarcasm.

"Y-yes." He rolls with it anyway, looking away from her, trying to look convincing.

"Well, that's one more reason for me to go with you." Leo's getting a little annoyed at this point.

'Jesus! She just WON'T give up!' Leo cringes in anger.

"You shouldn't come with me. The people there hate the military." She widens her eyes.

"Hate?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

"Very."

"Oh..." She pauses for a few seconds. "Is that so?"

'Stop it already!' Leo doesn't know how much he can take. She gives him a huge smirk. The kind of smirk he really doesn't like. The curious facial expression just changed into something different. Leo opens his mouth to say something, but he gets interrupted.

"So, tell me." She begins. "Where's the hate coming from?"

Leo has to think about that for a second before he gives his answer.

"Well, because of the food shortage. The military takes away most of their food and the government doesn't do anything about it. And I just happened to live there." He gives a pathetic little smile. She doesn't respond. "So, yeah... that's why you shouldn't come with me."

"But I'm technically not from the military." She says, making a valid point.

"Y-yes, that's true, but..."

'Dammit! I need to get her off of me.'

"But... you know... I think--"

"You're the son of Jack Syxton, right?" Leo looks at her instantly, widening his eyes.

'How does she know?' He just keeps looking at her. He doesn't know what to say. She's patiently waiting for his answer. He starts shaking again.

"So?" She asks and Leo is just not capable of answering.

'Shit! I'm gonna stay with this woman forever.'

"Silence means yes." She sighs, and she's right. "Look! I know what happened to your father. I was just testing you."

"T-testing... me?" His eyes start twitching as well. "Why?"

"That's just what I do. I know, I'm heartless, but I did this for your own safety." Leo's head is ready to explode.

"What do you mean?!" He raises his voice.

"I wanted to see how shaken you are by this horrible tragedy. Don't worry! You don't have to stay with me here. You can go home alone." Leo flinches a little.

"You... knew why I was saying that?" Leo says in a much calmer voice.

"Of course. That's just what I am. A genius." She smiles, and Leo finds it sweet.

"Well, I have to admit. You are... pretty amazing." He says.

'Wow! That came out waaaay too nice.' Leo thinks as he rubs the back of his head.

"And you are amazing as well. But I guess that you want to know when can you leave and I have great news." She sits closer to Leo, grabs both of his hands and whispers. "You can leave right now, if you want."

Loe just raises his eyebrow.

"R-really?" She nods. "Well, I'd like to leave now, miss."

"If that's what you want." Leo just simply nods. "Well, there are your clothes. On the chair. Put them on while I go out and bring you some fresh food."

"Y-yeah, that would be... nice. I'm kinda hungry." Leo replies while looking down at his stomach.

"Alrighty then." She jumps up. "I'll be right back!"

And just like that, she just rushes out of the room. Leo lets out a big breath.

'Thank God! I'll stay alone. But how does she know what happened? How long have I been out?'

Leo scratches the back of his head while still thinking. He's never met a person this strange in his life. He doesn't know why, but she seems... off, to him. He was never really good at meeting new people, anyway. They all just too pushie, and she's not different. At least she was careful with her words. Not like other people. They are always like:

"Oh, look how cute he is."

"Are you eating right?"

"You were only this tall the last time I saw you."

"You would be a great businessman."

"He is so quiet. Is he ill?"

So annoying. Well, He'll probably never get any visitors, so he's finally done with those people. He stops thinking about them. He stretches and he can feel his bones crackle.

"Geez!" It's a bit painful. He gets out of bed and walks to his clothes. He can see his glasses next to it. He picks them up.

'Thank God, they're not broken.' Then his attention turns to the clothes. They look and feel like they've been washed. There was maybe some dust on them... possibly some blood as well. He puts them on and waits patiently for the woman to come back. While he's waiting, he sees a bird fly into the room.

"Whoah! You scared me." He walks a bit closer to it. "Hey, birdie. How are you doing?" The bird just shakes it's head. To be honest, Leo wasn't even waiting for a proper response. "What are you doing here? You should be out there, not here. You are free in this world. You don't need to waste your time here." He reaches out to grab it, but it flies away and lands on the window sill. "Yeah, that's right. Fly away." It's just sitting there. It doesn't look like it wants to move. He decides that he should scare it one more time. "Come on! Just fly a-" Suddenly, a cat jumps in, through the window, and catches the bird. "JESUS!" The cat just tears the bird apart and devours it. Leo only blinks once and it ends. "Well, that was an... entrance." The cat lies down and starts licking itself. He goes closer to it. It doesn't look like it's someone's. The cat notices him and gets up. Their eyes meet and they just stare at each other. "W-well uuh... you are quite the hunter."

It just meows.

'Huh, it's actually really cute.' Leo thinks as he reaches out to it and surprisingly, it doesn't run away. It lets him touch it. It's purring loudly.

"Wow! That's an impressive purr you just did." He feels so weird. He's talking to a cat. A CAT. But it feels good, so it's okay. Probably. To him, at least. He gets up and closes the window, just in case the cat decides to go out. "Okay, now you stay in." He kneels down next to it. "Hey, how would you feel if I took home?" Of course, it doesn't answer. It just comes and fawns to him. "Alright then. I should find... something..." He can see a basket that's on the cupboard. "Hm." He reaches out to pick up the cat and it lets him. It moves a bit, but he puts him on the cupboard fast, so it doesn't get uncomfortable. He checks the bucket and sees a small blanket in it. "Perfect." I take the cat and put it inside. "I'm gonna take you home in this, okay?"

It doesn't look like it's against it. Suddenly, the door opens and the woman steps in.

"Here are your... what is that?" She notices it instantly.

"Oh, this? It's a cat. It jumped in through the window, and it looks cute, so I decided to keep it." She raises her eyebrow.

"Isn't it somebody's?" She asks.

"I don't see any label or collar on it, so I assume it's not." Leo caresses the cat. "And besides, I need something to help me keep my sanity."

"Really?" She asks and Leo realizes the mistake he made.

'Oh shit!'

"So what you're trying to say here, is that I would drive you insane?" If glances could hurt, Leo would've lost a limb right now.

"N-no, I don't!" He waves his hands around crazy for his defense. "That didn't come out right. What I meant to say was... that..."

'Dammit!'

"That?" He can't get out of this. He sighs in defeat.

"Look, no offense, but I don't want people in my life. Especially strangers. You understand, right?" She sighs as well.

"Yes, I do. It's okay. I'm not going to force you into something you don't want to be part of." She says and laughs a little.

'Good. At least she's okay with it.' Leo sighs in relief.

"Anyways, here's your food." She hands him a bag. He looks inside it and there's some bread and a potato.

"Thanks. I appreciate this." She just gives him a small grin. "May I ask you something?"

"Of course." Leo waits a few seconds before asking.

"H-how long have I been here?" He asks as he puts the bag over his shoulder.

"Why do you ask?" She widens her eyes.

"Because you know about me. You know what happened. I want to know how." She sighs and steps forward.

"Well, you've been here for like... two days?" Leo almost chokes on his own saliva after hearing this.

"What?! Two days?!" He yells.

"Don't yell at me. And yes. Two days." Leo has to lean on the wall to keep himself standing.

"How is that possible?" Leo is in shock after learing this information.

"Well, I don't have a proper answer. The only explanation that I can give is that the shock was so big, you passed out for a really long time."

"That's a fact. Not an explanation." He corrects her.

"Hehe. You're right." She giggles. "But anyway, I... should tell you something."

"You're damn right you should." Leo gets a little hostile.

"Okay, don't get too pushie. Let's start with some clarification." The nurse puts her hand up.

"What do you- ouch!" While Leo talks, the cat bites his hand. "Shit."

"Watch your mouth, kid." She puts up one finger.

"Yeah-yeah. Go on." She just skakes her head at Leo's comment.

"Alright. You see, the soldier who saved you came here." She says and Leo blinks in a quick motion by surprise.

"What? He's alive?" He asks.

"Of course he is. After the titans got through, they just ran away, using some horses and wagons." She says and Leo did not expect this.

"They... didn't fight them?" He asks.

"They didn't. They were just too many of them. Even when they just ran away, there were heavy casualties." Leo notices the concern in her voice. "There was absolutely no way of fighting."

"To be honest, I'm not surprised. But I thi-"

"How did they look like?!" Leo gets interrupted by her.

"Uh, ex-cuse me?" He asks, backing away a little bit.

"I'm sorry, but I NEED to know. How did they look like?" The excitement in her eyes are disturbing. It looks like she's been holding in this question for quite some time.

"Well, they are..." Leo's getting flashbacks again. His hands start shaking.

'Are you kidding me?!'

"They are...?" This woman is about to get on Leo's nerves.

"They..." Leo is trying his best to not have another panic attack.

"Yes?" The nurse is patient enough to wait for an answer.

"They aren't anything special." Leo manages to calm down and answer. "Just imagine humans being really tall, like giant... wait. You are a grown up person AND in the military, I assume! You should know this."

"Okay, first of all: Don't yell. Second of all: you're right. I just wanted to see your reaction, to make sure you're all right."

"Okay, first of all." Leo responds while mocking the woman. "I wasn't yelling. And second of all: don't test me ever again."

"Don't tell me what to do." She isn't hesitant to shoot back.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just forget it." She nods in agreement. "May I ask. Do you know who that soldier was? By name, I mean."

She puts on finger on her chin while she's thinking.

"I think it was... Ian Dietrich? Yes, Ian Dietrich. He said that you were inches away from a titan, but he saved you." Leo nods.

"Yeah, that's correct." He looks down on the floor, getting flashbacks again.

"And he told me everything. He said that he knew your father and he saw his body unde-"

"Stop!" He interrupts. She looks at him surprised. "I... don't want to hear more."

There's silence between them for a good few seconds before the nurse sighs and walks up to Leo.

"Fine. I stop." She puts her hands on his shoulder.

"Thank you." Leo replies quietly. They stand in silence for a minute that for Leo feels like eternity. The cat meowing brings him back. "Okay, I better go."

"Okay." He covers the cat with the blanket and opens the door.

"Well, then goodb-"

"Wait." She grabs his shoulder. "I know who's son you are. But, I don't know your first name. Can you tell me?"

Leo looks at her and sees the same look she gave him when the first time she stepped in. The caring one.

"Leo." He says. "It's Leo. There. You know my full name. Now, can you tell me yours?"

The woman adjusts her glasses before answering.

"My name... is Hanji Zoe." She smiles. "And it wasn't me who gave you the treatment. I'm a scientist, not a nurse."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 preview: Leo heads back to his home, where he meets up with someone. And that someone happens to be his childhood friend: Karl.
> 
> Chapter 5: A Caring Friend


	5. A Caring Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a few words. If you are wondering why this chapter is written in first person while the others before were in third person, don't worry. At first, this fic was written in first person, then I decided to write it in third person from chapter 14. I started editing the earlier ones, but then I got lazy. I don't know if I'm going to edit the remaining chapters or not. I might, one day, when I'm just super bored. That's all I wanted.  
> Enjoy!

I feel terrible. I'm tired, filled with fear and on the brink of depression. And that scientist lying to me, just so she can make sure that I'm okay, made me angry as well. I just wanted to punch her. I speed my pace up as I'm walking out of the infirmary. I need to get home and take a rest fast. I see some doctors standing outside so I shoot a quick wave at them. They look at me confused, like it's strange that a ten year old boy walking out alone of an infirmary right after a titan attack. It's not strange. At least to me. A lot of people tell me that I have a huge ego. That I think I'm special. I don't think it's true, but what do I know. It's only _my_ life.

 _It's about to get dark. I should hurry up before it catches me._  

I'm walking in a fast pace. It's really cold. Colder than usual. I can hear the cat make some strange noises.

"What's the problem? You're freezing, too?" It just purrs. I smile at its cuteness and keep walking. Later, I see some refugees getting food from a food stand. They have the tools of field workers. I assume that they are on a food-break. I keep looking at them when out of nowhere I bump into somebody, knocking him over.

"Dammit!" He says while falling down.

"Oh my God! I'm..." I walk next to him, offering my hand. "I'm so sorry. I didn't pay attention."

"Don't worry." He says while taking my hand. "I didn't, either."

I pull him up, he puts on his straw hat and wipes the dust off his coat. He is a refugee, too. I look next to him and I can see a box. Looks like something for food. He notices and quickly picks it up. Too quick, actually. It rips open on it's side and two breads fall out of it.

"Crap!" He yells. Thanks to my reflexes, I manage to catch both of them with my hand and the basket. The bread thankfully didn't land on the cat, so it didn't jump out.

"Here you go, sir." I hand them to him.

"Thank you." He takes them. "You got quite the reflexes."

"Thank you." I give him a small nod. But then, I remember something important.

"Well, thank you, but I should-"

"No." I interrupt him. He raises his eyebrow.

"What?" He asks, a bit scared. He knows why I said that.

"You are carrying more then one bread." I point at the box.

"Yeah, s-so?" I get more frustrated.

"Look, old man. You know the rules, right?" He looks at me with a completely clueless face. "Right?"

"What rules?!" He becomes frustrated as well. "Look, kid. I have no time for your 'rules'. I need to get home to my-"

He tries to walk away, but I grab him.

"You are a refugee and there was already food shortage before shit's hit the fan. You are only allowed to get one bread per food-break." I look at him in an intimidating way, he doesn't even move a muscle, though. "Why are you stealing?"

He doesn't even move his eyes. The scared man from a few seconds ago is gone. He's looking at me with a dead serious face.

"I'm not stealing. I'm just taking a little more extra than necessary." He frees his arm from my grip and starts walking away.

"Hey!" I shout after him and he stops. "Look, you caught me in a shitty mood, so I don't care what you do. But... I don't want to see that again, because if I do, I'll report you and you will be seriously punished."

"I understand, boy." His voice is calm and quiet. "Thank you. Now, I'll go back to my-"

"I don't care, just go!" I say out of annoyance. He just nods once and walks away.

_I hope that whoever he's taking those breads to is really worth all the trouble._

I take a look at the cat. It's fallen asleep.

_Lucky you. Falling asleep that easily._

I take one last glance at the old man. He is pretty far away, so I don't even bother with anything. Not that I want to, so it doesn't matter. I start walking again. It became a lot colder in the past two minutes, so I pick up the pace a little.

The city is really crowded. Too much people, too much animals, too much soldiers in the way. I'm not surprised. The refugees just came like mosquitoes when it's really hot. The only problem I have is that I don't like crowds. They make me feel uncomfortable a lot of times. I can see some people fighting over the food, or just simply talking to each other. Some kids are crying, or playing. The soldiers, though, don't even try to keep the people in control. They just don't care. That saddens and angers me. Real bad. I don't stop to argue with them, though. I am smarter than that.

I decide to take a shorcut through a bar. I step inside and I see someone familiar. The doctor I punched in the face. I stop and turn around immediately, but he notices me.

"Hey, Leo!" He looks like he's a bit drunk. "Come here, you."

I turn around and look at him.

"Come and talk to me when you are a responsible man." And with that, I rush out. He shouts something at me, but I can't hear it through the door pretty well. I don't really care, either.

_Jerk. Hell is upon us completely and he just drinks and becomes drunk. Pathetic._

I walk for like ten minutes and finally get to my famous neighborhood. It is famous because of the very angry and obnoxious people. The military takes everything and is even afraid to come here all by themselves. When they need to come here, they always bring like five squads. These people are dangerous. A lot of deaths happened here. Especially at night. The Garrison tries to keep chaos at bay here, but it's not easy. At all. There was a short period of time when they succeeded, but that only lasted for a week. And that was three months ago. They just don't understand that they shouldn't come here. My dad tried to tell them, but that was pointless. The people here left me alone up to this point and I hope this doesn't change.

After a while, the cat climbs out of the basket. I try to grab it, but it slips out and runs towards some bread crumbs on the ground.

"Hungry, huh?" I say while making my way towards it. I see two of my neighbors sitting outside their houses smoking pipes. They look at me and both greet me with lifting their pipes. I do a little smile and wave at them. I decide to wait for the cat to finish. I crouch down next to it and pet it.

"Just eat. Eat all you want. At home, tough, you'll get much better meal." I pause to think for a second. "I hope."

"Leo!" I hear a kid yelling my name. I know that voice. I raise my eyebrow by surprise and look behind me. I see my friend running towards me.

"Karl! It's so good to-" I can't finish my sentence because he hugs me immediately.

"I was so worried. Where were you? What happened? I heard that Wall Maria was broken through. Were you there? Answer me!" He's hugging me with so much strength that I can't breathe properly.

"K-Kaarrrl..." I try to speak without air in my lungs.

"L-Leo? Oh." He notices my struggle and lets go of me. I take deep breaths to recover from the horror of his hugs. "I'm sorry."

"Don't... don't be..." I calm him down while still breathing heavily. "I don't blame you... for... being happy."

"But seriously. What happened?" I look up at him and see a worried look on his face.

Karl has been a good friend of mine since three years. He's a homeless kid, but man, if he is not the coolest guy around here. I saved him from starving to death. I was seven and the only person who cared about him was me. I'm his only real friend, but now everybody likes him. He's just a cool guy to have around. I even offered him to live with me and my dad, but there were two problems: my dad didn't agree and Karl didn't want to. He thinks that he would be in the way, which is definitely not true. But since then he became a somewhat 'popular' around here. He is like this neighborhood's personal servant. He does any job possible and in return he asks for something he needs at that moment. He has his own personal shelter not far from my house.

"So?" He asks while I'm still trying to catch my breath.

_Man. He has a lot of strength._

"Well..." Finally, I'm able to talk. "A lot happened, to be honest. Where do I start?"

"It's better if you start at the beginning." He suggests.

"Well, first." I turn around to look at the cat. "Okay, you know what? I'll tell you on the way home, alright?"

He doesn't answer immediately, just gives me a strange look.

"You don't mind, do you?" I ask with a worried voice.

"N-no, I don't. Are... you okay?" He's clearly concerned. I don't like it that much.

"I'm fine. Let's go." I crouch down and pick up the cat and Karl looks at me confused.

"Wait! That's _your_ cat?" He points at it.

"Yes." I respond while putting the cat back into the bucket. "Found it in the infirmary."

"Woah, wait!" He shouts in surprise. "Infirmary? What were you-"

"I'll get there when I finish my story, Karl!" I interrupt him, a bit annoyed. He doesn't say anything, just signals with his hands for me to go on. "Okay, walk with me and listen."

I take a deep breath and start talking.

"Okay, so, you know what's going on with the refugees, right?" He nods. "Well, I... was in... Shiganshina... when that happened."

"What?! Are you serious?"

"Yeah..."

"And?"

"What and? You know what happened."

"You know what I mean." I realize I'm being mean to him.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." I feel real shitty. I'm being mean to him for no reason. "Anyway, I'll tell you everything, just please... be patient."

"Of course." He says while giving me a nod.

"Okay. So, I was just on my... usual walk, when suddenly, I heard a giant thunderbolt striking down."

"A thunderbolt?" He asks.

"Yeah. A thunderbolt." I swallow a bit before I continue. "Alright. So that happened and I fell to the ground. When I got up, I tried to ask some people what happened, when someone yelled to look at the wall. And there it was. A titan... sticking it's head over the wall."

"What?!" Karl asks, shocked. "Over?! That's impossible."

"I wish I could tell you the same, but... it's not. It literally sticked it over the wall and the worst of all, it kicked a hole into it."

"A-are you... serious?" His curiosity is a bit too much.

"Yes." I sigh."

"So it is true." He says, making me shoot a quick glance at him.

"What?"

"Rumors have been floating around about what happened. It seems like this one is true. Tell me what happened next, please." I raise my eyebrow.

"Of course." I take a deep breath and keep talking. "Okay, so it kicked a hole into the wall and a lot of huge rocks and debris started falling towards us. I was able to dodge all of them, but not everyone was so lucky."

"Oh, ouch." This is Karl's reaction.

"Exactly. So, I turned around to run and get my dad, and while I was running, I realized, that I can't see the tower of my dad's blacksmith shop." Karl widens his eyes.

"Wh-what? Don't tell me-"

"Yes." I confirm. "The tower collapsed by the debris of the wall, killing my dad."

"N-no..." I'm fighting with tears. I stop to try to get a hold of myself. Thankfully, Karl is here to calm me down. "Shhh, okay, Leo... don't tell me more."

I look up at him, a tear leaving my right eye.

"You... don't want to-"

"I would like to know exactly what happened." He interrupts me. "But, maybe another time, when you feel better."

"I'm... I'm fine." I try to talk myself out of this.

"No, you're not!" He says, a little louder than necessary. "After what happened, I understand that you don't want to talk about it."

"It was me who started talking." I can see that my statement caught him off guard.

"I know, but..." He tries to explain. "You are fighting with tears. You shouldn't talk about this right now."

I don't say anything. I'm just staring at the ground and not moving. Everything is wrong. I can't breathe properly, my legs and hands are shaking, my eyes are twitching and I'm sweating hard. All of a sudden, I feel Karl hugging me again, only difference is that this time he's a lot more gentle. After a few seconds of hesitation, I hug him back.

"It's okay, Leo. Don't worry. I'm here for you." He says while caressing the back of my head.

"T-thank you, Karl." I mutter into his shoulder. "You are a really good friend."

"That's just natural." We are standing like that for minutes that feel like hours. After that, he lets me go and we look at each other in the eye.

"Karl... I..." I try to thank him again, but I'm at my breaking point.

"It's okay, Leo. Let's just walk you home." I nod and with that we start walking again in complete silence. Even the cat has fallen asleep.

On our way home, a couple of neighbors tried to talk to me or offer Karl a job, but he simply told them to do not disturb us. Whenever I'm sad, I'm glad that I have Karl around. He's always here for me. Always. After a few minutes, we finally get to my house. I walk up the stairs and Karl hands me the cat.

"Do you have a key with you?" He asks.

"I don't." I answer. "But my dad hid a spare key under this flower right... here."

I pull the key out and I'm about to open the door when suddenly I hear a dog barking.

"Shit!" I forgot about the dog.

"What?" I sigh before answering.

"My dad's fucking dog."

"What about it?" I shoot a qiuck glance at him. He caught me off guard with that question.

"What about it?!" I question his 'stupidity'. "It's a wild dog. If it sees the cat, it's going to rip it to fucking pieces."

"You don't know that."

"It fucking bit me before. I think I know."

"Are you sure?" I open my mouth to speak, but instead, I take a deep breath and calm down a bit.

"Look! I can't let this cat in. There's no way."

"Well, then what are you going to do?" I put my hand on my chin and pick up my thinking pose. I suddenly shoot my head up and tell Karl the answer.

"I got it!" And hold out the bucket. "You can have it."

Karl raises his eyebrow and holds his arms up a bit.

"Woah, what? Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm not?" I look at him with one hundred percent seriousness. He just blinks a couple. He's speechless.

"L-Leo, I uh..."

"Take it."

"But it's yours."

"Exactly. So I have every right to give it to you."

"But-" He stops himself, realizing that I'm completely right. He sighs and then takes the bucket. "Okay. I... try to keep it alive. Just for your sake."

I give him a confused look.

"Just for my-"

"Look, I'm sorry." I get interrupted. "That didn't sound right. What I meant to say is that-"

I put my fingers on his lip to make him shut up. He mutters something under them, but I can't hear it properly.

"What was that?" He just shakes his head, meaning he surrendered. "Okay, then. Congratulations on your new cat, Karl!

I start clapping slowly and he just gapes at me.

"Are you serious? Leo you shouldn't-"

"Don't think about that. What really matters is: What are you going to name it?"

"What?" He looks at me really surprised, like he never heard about this before.

"Name it. The cat."

"N-name?" I look at him slightly confused.

"Yeah... when you get a... pet... you should name it."

"Oh, right." He looks down at the cat then back at me. "Any suggestions?"

I raise my eyebrow and sigh before answering.

"Hey, it should be a name that means something. Something that is pretty simple, but meaningful in someway."

"What is your dad's dog's name?"

"It's Mike." Karl looks at me really confused. I sigh again. "He was my dad's brother. He died and that's how he honored him."

"Oh." Karl looks at the cat once again and opens his mouth to say something but closes it right away.

"What?" I ask him.

"N-nothing."

"You wanted to say something." I step closer. "What is it? Do you have a name?"

I lean closer and tilt my head to the side, making Karl a bit uncomfortable.

"Y-yes, I do." He finally says.

"Oh yeah? What is it then?"

"It's... it's..." He takes a deep breath and finally answers. "I'm gonna call it Leo."

My eyes widen immediately.

"What?"

"You heard me." He gives me a large smile. "Leo."

"Are you serious?"

"What? It's a good name for it. His eyes are green and remind me of you. Look at them." I do and I have no idea why he's saying this. Suddenly, I remember about a slight oversight.

"Wait!" I put one finger up. "We don't even know if it's a _he_ or a _she_."

He widens his eyes as well.

"You're right. Hmmm... I'm gonna check it." And just like that, he already has the cat in his arms. I just close my eyes and hope for the best.

_Please be a she. Please be a she. Please be a-_

"It's a he!"

_Fuck!_

I open my eyes and I can see Karl giving me his usual a 'are you serious' look.

"What?" I ask. He just shakes his head.

"Nothing." He sighs which doesn't feel good for me. It makes me feel pretty strange. Like I'm an asshole.

"So, are you keeping the name, then?"

"Yep." He immediately responds.

I sigh once again.

"Are you sur-"

"Yes, Leo! Oh my God! Can you calm down?" I turn my head slightly to the side.

"Excuse me?" He gives me a scared look. He clearly didn't mean that. He backs away a bit.

"Oh, I uh... sorry, but I should go now. I think you need some time to recover on your own."

_Yeah, you're right._

I don't answer him out loud. I just stare at him and he scratches the back of his head.

"O-kay. Well... bye then. Don't worry. I'll keep this cat safe. Like it's the light in my eyes."

"You damn right you will." I say and that was enough to make Karl shiver a bit. As much as he likes me, I scare him a bit. Maybe because I proved him once that I can kick his ass, even though I would never ever do it. But he doesn't know that, so I just play with his feelings every so often.

He waves as he walks away and I wave back. I turn around and I finally open the door. I step inside and I can feel something different already. It's like I'm feeling loneliness, which would make sense. Everything is empty. Only me, a dog that doesn't like me and a lot of inanimate objects. And it's all my responsibility. Not Karl's, my neighbor's, my dad's, no. Only mine, no one else's. I'm all alone in this house. I hear the dog barking really loudly, like it wants something. I go out to stand on the balcony, where I can see down at it's playground. It has his little dog house, a bowl next to it with water in it, but in the other bowl, there's no food. I figure that's what it wants.

"Hungry, eh?" I ask, like it's going to answer me correctly. "Alright. I think I know what you want."

I go inside and look into the pantry. There is some raw meat there, which is for the sole purpose of feeding the dog. I take one out and just throw it outside for the him.

"Here. Enjoy!" Mike immediately runs for the meat and starts eating it. He looks like he's enjoying it. I smile a little and go inside once again.

_Phew, I'm tired. I need to sit down._

I walk to the couch and make myself comfortable on it right away. Mike is quiet, and so is the neighborhood. I close my eyes and don't even notice that I'm about to fall asleep, which, after a few seconds, I do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 preview: A few days pass by and Leo's living alone. And one day, Karl shows him something that is very close to him.
> 
> Chapter 6: The Suitcase That Contains The Dream


	6. The Suitcase That Contains the Dream

It's the same setting. I'm standing on a field again, it's cold and empty. But I'm not alone now. A tall, middle-aged man is standing on my left and a blonde, short girl is on my right. They are covered in blood and have the ODM-Gear on. They are facing the opposite way I'm facing. I look at them, not understanding what's going on. They both look at me, giving me a nod.

 _"Get ready, Leo."_ The man says, as calm as he possibly can.

 _"Don't worry. It's fine."_ The girl says, but she has a male's voice. I look at her and raise my eyebrow. Is it even a girl? I hear a roar behind me. Sounds like a titan. I turn around, and suddenly, I found myself inside a titan's mouth.

"AAAH!!!" I scream and roll of my couch, landing hard face first. "God-damn! What the... _hell_... was that?"

I'm sweating hard again. I'm literally soaking. Even bleeding a bit from my nose. I hit it pretty bad.

_Shit. Now **this** is what I was missing._

I get up and walk into the kitchen to find a napkin or something. After a few seconds, I do and put it against my nose. 

_Man, am I going crazy? What are these dreams?_

I wipe the blood away and put some pressure on my nose to stop the little bleeding. Then I smell something terrible.

"Ugh! What the hell-" I tilt my head down and and I immediately find the source of the bad smell. "Oh, it's me. I should take a shower."

I put the napkin into a bin and walk into the bathroom. I take off my clothes and put them into the laundry. Usually taking a shower for me takes around 20 minutes, because my thoughts _really_ carry me away. After I'm done, I get out and put on fresh clothes. I put the towel on a clothesline to let it dry. I look at the clock and the time surprises me.

"Wow! It's 3 p.m.! I was in the shower for 30 minutes?" That's really rare.

Suddenly I hear the dog barking outside, which probably means it wants to eat. I walk to the pantry, open the door, grab some food and throw it outside. But Mike doesn't stop barking. I stop and turn around to check what's bothering him.

"What's wrong, big boy? Did you take a rough shit?" He just keep barking. "If you want me to go down there and pet you, don't. That's the last thing I'll do in this world. After what you did, that's expected."

I raise my left hand and look at the wound Mike caused me a year ago. It's mostly gone, but it still hurts, emotionally. It happened so fast. I just wanted to pet him, but he thought otherwise. I don't blame him, but I always kept my distance. But I know that eventually, I have to go down there. But thankfully, not now.

_I should just go inside and hope he stops._

I turn around and walk back inside. I close the door behind me, and I slam my hand against my head, realizing why he's barking.

_Shit, he wants to go for a walk._

I look out the window to look at the dog. I really don't want to walk him, but I have no choice. My dad's not here, so it's my responsibility. I bite my lips and walk to the counter.

_Okay, I'll eat something and then I walk him._

"Shut that damn dog up, Syxton!" I hear a neighbor yelling. He is really pissed. Mike probably woke him up.

"Alright, sir!" I yell back, a bit annoyed. I clench my fist and punch the shelf on the wall. "Why?... Why?... Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Whhhhyyyyyyy?!?!"

Each time I asked that question, I punched the wall. The punches got stronger and stronger. My hand is actually bleeding.

_I can't believe this. This... dad... no..._

I can already feel the same fear and shock I felt in Shiganshina. The titan's face flashes in front of my face, and my legs are shaking. I slowly sit down on the ground, my back pressed against the counter. I tilt my head down and try to calm down.

_I'm on my own here. I have to manage everything here. Everything._

I start crying lightly, I can't keep it in. My dad's gone and I'm having horrifying dreams - or more like nightmares - about titans and two people, who both look familiar. Am I really crazy? Whatever is happening, I need to get a hold of myself or I won't make it far on my own. After a few seconds - or minutes, I lost count - I get up and slowly make my way to the table that has some bread on it. I pick three up and eat them fast. I let out a sigh that is louder than a normal one and burp a little.

"Oh, shit." I say and cover my mouth with my fist. I swallow and exhale. I turn my attention at the dog.

"Okay, time to get you." I walk upstairs and walk into my dad's room, and it feels like nothing. Without even a slight hesitation, I rush into the room, grab the dog lead and leave with the same speed I got in. I don't even want to think about my dad right now. I got a slightly bigger problem. His goddamn dog, which before, I didn't even approach, but now, I need to _walk_ it. But first: I need to make sure it doesn't bite me ever again.

I open the door that leads to the platform outside and lean onto the railing. I strengthen the grip on the leash out of frustration and nervousness.

"Shit." I sigh. "Why is this happening?"

I take a deep breath and after a few minutes of thinking and hearing Mike barking, I open the little door that separates him and us on top of the stairs and walk down carefully and slowly. He's staring at me, but doesn't run towards me. With slow steps and extreme caution, I'm near the dog which just keeps staring at me.

"Okay, big boy. Calm down." I'm telling to myself. Mike frightens me a bit. "It's gonna be... okay."

Mike barks once, which makes me jump backwards and I fall onto my back.

"Fuck!" I say, while standing up fast. "Don't play me like that."

Mike just whines and I sarcastically smile at it.

"Yeah, just play the innocent." I step closer and closer, and he backs up a bit. "C'mon. Just let me put this leash on you and walk you outside."

I reach out slowly to grab him. My hand is shaking, but I have to be able to do this. He doesn't move or make a sound. He just calmly sits down and scratches the back of his ear with his foot. I stop to wonder if he's really that agressive.

"Okay, what? Last time I approached you, I got bit." He barks once and I lean closer. Just when I'm about to grab him, he shakes his whole body, making me flinch. "J-Jesus! Don't scare me like that."

Mark just whines and lies down onto his stomach. We are staring at each other for a few seconds and I have no idea if he's really tame or just playing with me, and when I touch him, he bites my arm off.

_Alright, I need to calm down. This is weird._

I finally decide to not screw around anymore and I put my hand on his head. Mike doesn't move away or bites me. He's not even bothered. I slide my hand carefully around it's neck and put the leash on him. He backs up but I keep him in one place.

"Hey, calm down. It's okay. Don-" I try to calm him down, but he jumps on me and starts licking my face. "Whoah, boy. Calm... down. Enough!"

I yell and finally manage to push him off of me. He runs away and pulls me with him. I fall forward and land flat on my face, which makes my nose hurt really bad.

"Ow. Goddammit! Mike!" I grab the leash and, with huge struggles, stop him running. "Okay, big boy. Come here."

I pull him towards me and without hesitation he comes to me.

"Hmh. You're tamed, that's something I didn't know." I kneel down and pet him on the head. "But why am I surprised? My dad was an excellent teacher."

I stand up and walk him upstairs. I take the key of the house and walk outside without a problem.

"What the hell happened to you while I was afraid of you?" I say and he just whines. I smile at him and lock the door. "Okay, let's go!"

Mike barks once and starts walking in front of me. The weather is perfect for walking a dog. It's not too hot, or too cold. It's exactly in the middle. Some of the neighbours greet me and I do the same back. As much as they are hostile towards the military, they are the nicest people to everyone here. Every person helps each other and we try to live a normal live. We manage, but without much food, it's not that easy. For me, it's not that big of a problem, since I don't eat much. That's why I'm skinny as hell. I got some scolding from people, but my dad always shushed them.

Suddenly, I see the Garrison put out some roadblocks on the road. I stop and raise my eybrows at the sight.

"What the hell..."

"Leo!" I turn to the right and see Karl coming towards me. "Nice day, isn't it?"

"Kinda." I respond and Karl hugs me. "Hi."

"How are you?" He asks while eating a slice of bread.

"I'm fine. I'm walking my dog as you can see." I say and move aside to show him Mike completely.

"Oh, I see. So, is he cool?" He asks, stepping closer.

"For now, yes. But!" I say and hold my hand up to stop Karl. "Don't test him."

He looks a bit concerned, but nods in defeat.

"I really want to pet him, though." He says, making me frown.

"You have a cute cat." I respond back. "And he's named after me."

My comment makes Karl flinch a bit. I said that with a bit of a harsh tone.

"Okay, Mr. Leo!" That was in the same tone I used. I just shake my head and faceplam.

"Your comebacks are terrible."

"Like yours are better." I laugh and flick him on the forehead.

"Ow, Leo! You know that hurts." He says while holding his forehead.

"You're right." I laugh even more. But after a few seconds, I decide to ask him about the roadblock.

"Do you know anything about that?" I point into that direction. He turns his head towards it.

"The roadblock?" He asks as he turns back to look at me, making me frown.

"Do you see anything unordinary there?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"N-no..." He says in a shy tone.

"So?"

"Well, um... I don't think you're gonna like this." He says while scratching the back of his head. "Well, we are... probably not gonna get any food this month."

"What? Any food?!" I say, a bit louder than necessary.

"Shh. Keep it down. Not everyone knows this. They, the Garrison, predict that when nothing arrives, people will try to escape from here, and they don't want that." I click my tongue in irritation.

"Great. Not only we have to live in the corner like pieces of crap, we are treated as such. Not cool."

"Well, you're right about that." He says while he finishes his bread. "But don't worry. I'm sure you'll have plenty of food for that time."

"And what about you?" I say, while keeping Mike in one place. "What's going to-"

"I'll be fiiine, don't worry about me." Karl interrupts me and laughs. I just gape at him, but sigh in defeat.

"Well, if you say so." He caresses the top of my head and all of a sudden grabs my arm.

"Okay, come with me. I want to show you something you'll like." He says while trying to pull me, but I get out of his grip.

"Don't pull me. I have a dog on my other side. I don't know what happens if I pull the leash a bit harder than necessary." I say and he looks behind me at Mike.

"Okay. Follow me then." He says and waves forward. I signal Mike to follow me as well and he comes after me without a thought. We walk in silence for a few minutes and Kral leads me to his private shelter. It's kinda messy, but what else did I excpect? "Okay, wait. Let me find it."

He searches, while Mike walks towards a bowl, which is unfortunately empty.

"Hey." I say to Mike and he actually turns his head back. "Lie down."

I point at the ground and surprisingly he understands. He lies down next to the wall and I hear Karl struggling with something.

"What is that Karl? Need help?"

"N-no. I'm alright." He says while carrying a suitcase. A rather huge one. He puts it in front of me, breathing heavily. "Woo, that's heavy. A little exercise."

"What's this?"

"This..." He kneels down and opens it. "Is and ODM-Gear!"

My eyes widen instantly and I step back once.

"What the... You _stole_ this?!" I ask, not even caring about the loudness of my voice.

"Leo! Keep it _down_." He whispers. "I don't want to attract any attention. And no, I didn't steal this."

"Then how did you get it?" He puts a finger on his chin.

"Well... Last night, I was just walking on the streets. You know, minding my own stuff, and all of a sudden, a wagon moved pass me. It probably hit a rock, because it hopped up a bit and this fell out. I immediately ran to it and picked it up aaaaand... now it's here."

I just raise my eyebrow. I don't really believe him.

"That's it?"

"Yep." He nods and pushes the suitcase closer to me. "So, what do you think?"

My jaw drops by that question.

"What... do I think? I think that if the Garrison finds out, you'll be in a lot of trouble. Why didn't you just leave it there. Or took it to them?"

"C'mon. Why would I do that?" He says as he takes a blade out. "You know I'm not that type of person. And besides, you _love_ the ODM-Gear."

He holds out the blade to give it to me, but I push it away.

"Stop. I'm serious. You can get in trouble for that." He isn't paying attention and just picks up another blade.

"Oh, come on, Leo." He says while dual-wielding the blades. "I won't if they don't find out."

"It doesn't work like that. It's-"

"Shush! That's exactly how it works." He silences me. I'm running out of my patience at this point and he probably noticed it because he immediately puts the blades down. "I-I mean... if we keep quiet, no one will know."

"Are you sure about that?" I say and crouch down to get a closer look at the gear.

"Yes. Trust me. Nobody comes here. Ever." I look up at him and he smiles at me.

"Promise?" I ask, pointing my finger at him.

"Yes." He makes an x sign on his heart. "Cross my heart."

I've never seen him make a promise like that. It's a bit wierd. I stop thinking about it and look at the gear. It looks incredible. The blades look magnificent and freshly made, the vertical maneuver device is clean as hell, I knock on the scrabbard's gas tank and it's full. I'm amazed, but what I really want to see are the operating devices. I pick both up and I'm trying to get a good grip on them. I take a few swings as well.

"So? How does it feel?" Karl asks. Clearly he is interested as well.

"Well, it's not the most comfortable thing to hold."

"Heh. No surprise." He stands up. "You've never held something like that before. Of course it's gonna feel weird."

He takes one blade out and holds it out again.

"Let's try them with the blades." I look at him worried. He's holding that blade at the edge.

"Careful!" I warn him. "You might cut yourself."

"I won't. Don't- OW!" He screams out in pain and drops the blade.

"Karl!" I step next to him. "Are... are you okay? You are such a-"

"GOT YOU!" He yells and shows his uncut hand.

"Karl!" I punch him on the shoulder. "It's not funny."

"Hehehe. Yes, it is." He just keeps laughing while I'm pretty angry and embarrassed by the fact that he easily fooled me. It's not really fair, since I deeply care about him. If something happened to him, I would get emotionally destroyed. I'm just staring at him when I notice that he already stopped laughing and is looking at me weird.

"W-what?" I ask and he giggles.

"Nothing. You should've seen your face." He says as he wipes a tear away from the corner of his eye.

"Again, not funny. End of discussion." There's a few seconds of awkward silence between us before he decides to pick the blade up again.

"You... want to try it?" He's slowly moving the blade towards me and I'm just thinking about it. He smiles and shakes it in front of me. "C'mon."

_Should I? What if I get hurt? Ah, fuck it._

"Put it in the device." I say and hold it in front of him. Without hesitation he tries to shove it in, but it won't even go in an inch. We both push, but it doesn't work.

"Dammit!" He says. "How do you do this?"

I take one good look at the device.

"There must be a button..." I mutter mostly to myself rather than to Karl. There is a switch on the back where the thumb is supposed to be. It can be pushed in, but it doesn't stay in place. It's pretty easy to do it. "Try now."

I push the switch, Karl pushes the blade into the device and I let go of the switch. And just like I predicted, it stayed in it.

"You got it." He says with clear joy in his voice.

"Yes, I do." I take a few slow swings with it, being completely careful not to cut anything or anyone.

"How does it feel?" He asks and I look at him and back at the sword. I just chuckle at the pure amazing feeling. "Okay, there's my answer."

"It's amazing, Karl." I say and the sun perfectly shines at the sword, making it even brighter and more majestic.

"Heh. Just think about it when you will use this in the Survey Corps." Suddenly, a huge shock of fear strikes me. The same one that did at home when I had the nightmare. The pure thought of joining them makes me remember back at the titan that almost killed me. "L-Leo? Are... you okay?"

Karl asks and I notice myself shaking. I'm an emotional wreck. Again. The titan's face is flashing before my eyes and my stomach turns.

"Leo?" I can tell that Karl is scared. He's never seen me like this. I shake my head and get back into reality. I immediately pull the blade out of the handle and put them both back into the suitcase. "What are you doing?"

I grab the other blade next to him and place it into the suitcase as well and close it.

"Leo?"

"We never talk about this again!" I say, pointing my finger into his face.

"W-what? What's gotten into yo-" I interrupt him by grabbing his shirt and pulling him closer.

"Listen here very carefully." I begin, with pure anger in my eyes. "We never talk about the military, the Survey Corps, the ODM-Gear, the titans or _anything_ that happened in Shiganshina. I will never _ever_ join the military."

"But... but the gear..."

"You're right. But after witnessing the titans's wrath and destruction first hand, I don't want to join them. The titans are horrifying. I don't want to face them ever. Got that?" I pull Karl even closer and he opens his mouth to say something, but just sighs and nods. I back away and let him go. "Okay, I'll go home now."

I turn around and pick the leash up.

"Up, Mike!" I order him and he does exactly that.

"Wait!" Karl shouts after me. I turn around and he lifts the suitcase's right half off the ground. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Bury it, burn it, crush it. I don't care." I turn around and start walking away. "Later, Karl."

"Wait! L-Leo?!" I hear him struggle with it, but I don't care. I'm too angry to do so. I rush out of there, without even looking back.

"I will never _ever_ join the military."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7 preview: "I will never ever join the military." A vow made in anger and fear by Leo changes his whole life. He just wants peace and quiet and not joining the military. But that has a chance to change when one of his friends tells him an interesting fact about one of the divisions.  
> Chapter 7: The Military Police


	7. The Military Police

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I finally got this one done. I really don't want to post chapters monthly, but there is so much stuff keeping me busy, like school and family. But this week is spring break, so I might post the next chapter in the next couple of days, but nothing is guaranteed. Also, if you haven't read the uptated 2nd chapter, I suggest you do. I changed the scene where Leo meets the trio. I think it was a mistake doing it the first way it was, so I decided to change it.  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a little bit of a turning point for our protagonist.

Three months past since I held the swords of the ODM-Gear. Since I saw it up close. Since I basically told Karl to throw it away or destroy it. Ever since that day, every conversations we had were awkward as hell. He seems like he wants to talk about it, but doesn't want to anger me. And he's right. I never want to see that crap ever again. It's bad enough that these three months were not easy for me. Living alone with a dog to take care of is hard for a ten year old. And the nightmares are something else. In the past three months, I had them like every day or every two days. They don't seem to stop. They just get creepier and creepier. The old man disappeared from them, though. It's only the blond kid. And I still don't know if it's a guy or a girl. Every time, the kid's voice changes and I'm never able to see they're face well cause it's always covered in blood. Every time, they say the same thing: "Don't worry. Everything is fine." I have no idea what that's supposed to mean. I don't get it. The more I hear it, the more confused I get. And the titan's face is the most disturbing thing in this entire situation. It's face keep flashing into my eyes every so often and sometimes, makes me outright scream in public. I even scream in the middle of the night when I'm shaken up by it the moment it appears. The neighbors think I'm insane, and they might be right. Maybe I am going insane. I always try different techniques to calm myself down. For example reading books or taking longer walks, but they don't seem to work.

The food shortage is bad as well. Trost is just barely surviving, but us, that's an other story. We get like 1/8 of food that the others get and that sucks. To me, it's not a big deal, because I don't eat much, but for everyone else, it's a problem. Even for Karl. _Especially_ for Karl. The barricade was a decent idea though... on paper. In reality, it was a disaster. It got broken down almost immediately and there was chaos on the streets. People were breaking into houses, harassing and beating others, stealing properties, killing people and burning houses. It took the military some time to bring chaos to order, but it eventually worked. To a certain degree. There are still some people roaming the streets like animals, but they are dealt with pretty fast. Hundreds of people were sent to jail, but only a few people and soldiers were killed. Thankfully no one died that I knew or was close with. I stayed out of this whole thing. I was just chilling in my house and if somebody wanted to break in, I would have just let Mike loose and he would have scared everyone away. My relationship with him grew bigger each day and now he's my protector, my guardian angel. Except that everything he does cannot be compared to the actions of an actual angel. Once he bit a chunk out of an intruder's neck. Needless to say, the man died right there. Thankfully, the MP's didn't care too much. I still have Mike and I didn't get any trouble. In fact, that man was the first and last person who entered my house uninvited. Words spread fast around here.

Right now I'm at home, reading an article about the king's Celebration Day, which was a quote unquote 'success'.

"What the hell do they mean by success?" I rant to myself. "They mean that no one was killed and everyone enjoyed it or what? Or that no one talked shit about the king?"

I grab my flask of water and take a long sip.

"I hate politics." I wipe away some water from the corner of my mouth. "I hate the king and everyone who praises him. His selfish, egotistical, corrupt actions are killing humanity way worse than the titans do. At least with the titans, everybody knows that we are in trouble, but the king? A lot of people don't realize his bullshit. He just looks like an asshole."

I sigh and take another sip from my water. I put it down with a unnecessary loud bang and a bit of the water flew out. I flip a page and now there are rumors about the MP's using an illegal black market.

"There it is." I point at the article aggressively. "That's what I'm talking about. Why do they even call them rumors, huh? It's so obvious, it stinks."

I fold the newspaper and throw it behind the couch.

"Why do I even care? It's not like I'll work there or some-" Suddenly someone knocks on my door, making me almost fall out of my couch. "What the hell?"

I get up and check myself in the mirror to make sure to look at least decent. I fix my hair and adjust my shirt. The person knocks again and I yell back a simple 'just a moment'. I finish with myself and walk to the door. I turn the key really slowly and carefully and then open the door.

"Finally. What took you so long?" It's Jean, standing there with a smug, annoying face.

"Hi to you, too, asshole." I say and he just frowns at me.

"Aww, don't be like that. You don't have to call me names." He crosses his arms at his chest.

"I'm not calling you names. Those are what I call _truth_." I cross my arms as well and we stare at each other, having a little staring contest. After a few seconds of awkward silence he chuckles.

"Oooh, it's great having you, asshole." He says and we shake hands as I laugh, too.

"Yeah, same to you." We stand there just looking at each other again. I put my arms on my hips and start stomping, waiting for him to speak.

"Sooo..." He raises his eyebrow, totally oblivious. I just sigh and facepalm. "Why are you here?"

"Oh... yeah, that!" He straightens immediately. "Sorry, got taken away."

"Yeah, right." He sticks his tongue at me, meaning he is _really_ mean this time.

"I want to tell you something, but I need you to come with me." I look at him with the most bored expression I can.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because you wouldn't believe me if I tell you right now." He grabs me by my arm and starts dragging me. "You have to see this."

"Wait!" I free my arms and he stops a few steps away.

"What?" He asks, like he doesn't know common sense.

"I have to close my door, jackass." I turn around and make my way to my door. "See? Doooooor."

He opens his mouth, but decides to not say anything, which is a good choice. He wouldn't win this argument. I lock the door and put the key into my pocket while still looking at him.

"Well, show the way." I say and I throw my arm to the right. He looks at his left - which is my right - and looks back at me, confused a little.

"How did you know it was that way?" He says while starting to walk.

"Because there's nothing to the left except the wall."

"Oh, right." He scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Okay, but make this quick, okay?" I yawn and I can feel my stomach rumble as well. "I'm tired and kinda hungry."

"Okay, and don't worry." He looks back at me and smirks. "You're gonna love it."

Jean Kirstein. He's a greedy, smug, asshole-ish douchebag, who is a really good friend of mine. We sometimes fight, but only verbally. The one _real_ fight we had was just a childish, pathetic piece of special crap. That was the moment when my dad began to teach me some fighting techniques, because he was so embarrassed to be called my dad after seeing my 'fighting skills'. Even though I was just seven, it was _horrible_. Me and Jean are good friends though. When the one of us needs help, the other tries everything he can to help him.

We walk for a few minutes in silence while I look around the city. The aftermath of the outbreaks are still around. Houses have damaged and/or burnt walls, some burnt tinders and destroyed wagons are scattered across the streets. A couple of screams and shouts here or there, but right now, we are getting to the safer part of the city. The noises die down quickly.

"Crazy, huh?" I hear Jean talking, but I don't catch it pretty well.

"Hm?" I look at him, asking him to say it again.

"I said: Crazy, huh?" He looks back at me, his hands in his pocket, just like my hands. We are quite phlegmatic.

"Oh, yeah, kinda..." I look down at the ground, signaling him that I don't want to talk about this.

"I mean, things since the fall of Wall Maria have been crap, and then this happens." It didn't work. My signal did not work. I just sigh and close my eyes to think for a few seconds. I'm not paying attetion to where I'm going and I almost trip on a small rock in the ground.

"What the hell, Leo?" Jean looks back at me. "Pay attention, will you?"

"Tch, whatever." I look back at the rock I tripped on and stick my tounge out at it. "Screw you, nature."

I look back at Jean who has his eyebrow raised.

"Did you literally insult nature?" I shrug and he chuckles as he turns around. "You are really something, Leo."

I don't respond to that. I feel like it's not needed. We walk for another few minutes when he finally stops.

"So, you still didn't change your mind, right?" He asks while he turns around.

"About what?"

"You know. The military. Not joining the-"

"No." I interrupt him immediately.

"What?" His lips curve a bit upwards. "So what you're saying is that you still don't want to join them?"

I frown at him and bite my lower lip.

"Yes." I say while literally burying my nails into my thighs in frustration. I don't feel well and he's not helping. And he just smirks even more.

"What if I told you..." He puts his finger on his chin and looks slightly upwards. "...that there might be something that can convince you."

"Jean, there is literally nothing that can convince me. So don't even try." I step forward and lean forward a bit. "Do you understand, you little shit?"

"Wow, Leo. Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, _fucktard_!"

"Language." I open my mouth to speak, but that respond throws me off guard and I start to stutter.

"Wh-wha-what... what?! Language?"

"Exactly." My jaw drops open and I look down at the ground confused.

"Did you hit your head or something? This isn't you." He walks in front of me and closes my mouth with his hands.

"Leo, I've just discovered something that will change our lives. It's amazing." I slap his hands away and push him away.

"What are you talking about, Jean?" He smirks once again.

"Look." He says and he turns my head towards a paper hanging on the wall. It's labelled 'The Military Police'.

"What's this?" I ask, turning back at him.

"Just read it!" He yells and I raise my eyebrows and sigh in annoyance as I turn my head back at the paper. To summarize it, the paper talks about after the cadets finish their training and being able to join the MP and all of its little facts. Serve the king himself, protect the streets and the weak and have the privilege to live in the Inner District.

"Wait what?!" My eyes widen as I read it.

_Did I see that right? No way._

"Did you read it?" I don't answer, I just gape. I find it hard to believe this. "Leo?"

"Give me a second, douche." I look at him and give him my usual intimidating and irritated look. He holds up his hands in defense and I look back at the paper, still gaping. "So... does this mean what I think it means?"

"Yes." He answers without hesitation. "I know what you feel about the titans and that you don't want to join the military to be able to use the ODM-Gear. But look, you can use it for three years and then you don't have to join the scouts or The Garrison. You can join the MP's. No... _we_ can join the MP's."

He puts his hand on my shoulder and I look at him.

"We?" I ask as I grab his hand and remove it from my shoulder.

"Yes, we." He puts his other hand on my other shoulder and I back away. "So? What do you say?"

I try to not look at him as I'm thinking about the whole thing. This is really interesting.

_The Military Police? The Inner District? Using the ODM-Gear for three years sounds good, but..._

"Leo?" Jean asks and I see him stepping closer.

"I'm thinking." I say and turn my back to him.

"What is there to think about? It's obvious that this is the best decision. We would get away from the titans, Leo. Just think about that for a second." I don't answer. My thoughts are just flying in my head and I don't know what is better: living like a useless piece of crap or basically an asshole slave?

_No, it's not worth it. Even if I did join, I would only use the gear for three years and after that, it would be gone. Forever._

I turn my head to look at him and he has a stupid grin on his face and his eyes are gleaming as well.

"So? What do-" He doesn't get to finish as my hand crashes against his mouth, shutting it. I squeeze his cheeks while with my other I hand grab the back of his head and pull him closer.

"Listen to me." He tries to get out, but my grip is too strong. "No, NO! Listen to me. There is no chance in _hell_ , that I will ever join the military. My dreams of using the ODM-Gear and flying through the air are over. Even if I did join, I would only use it for three years, and after that, boom, it's _gone_."

I whisper that last bit which makes Jean shiver a bit. After a few seconds of us staring each other in the eye - him with fear and me with intimidation and anger - I let him go and he catches his breath.

"What the hell, Leo?" He asks while struggling to get some air.

"And this is the last time we ever talked about this." I step and tilt his head up to face me. "Do you understand?"

He nods and he begins to breathe properly again.

"If you want to join them, fine. But I won't, that's for sure."

"But I thought-"

"SHUT IT, JEAN!" I shout, gaining a lot of attention at us. He looks away from me without saying anything and I look at the people staring at us.

"What?" I ask. "You've never seen kids arguing before? Quit staring!"

And with that, I turn my attention to Jean. He looks kinda scared and dissapointed.

"Look, Leo-"

"Stop." I interrupt him again. "If you want to join them and get away from the titans as far as possible, hey, suit yourself. I don't care. Okay?"

Another silence and he straightens himself up. He doesn't look like he likes this idea.

"Now if you excuse me, I'm going home." I say and turn around. "I suggest you do the same."

I start walking and I don't wait for him to respond. It doesn't look like he even wants to. He doesn't say or do anything. I don't look back at him. My head hurts and this whole situation is not helping at all.

_The Miliraty Police works for the king I hate. Like hell I'm going to join them._

After a few minutes, I get home, not thinking about this much. I've always been the kinda guy who gets over things fast. I open the door and immediately lock it. I don't want anyone to come bursting into my house.

"Joining the MP's? So stupid. I wouldn't use the gear, so what do I gain from it?" I rant to myself. Suddenly I hear Mike barking in the 'I want food' way. I check the pantry for meat and there is one little piece left.

"Shit. I better go find some food for you, buddy." I take the meat and go outside to the balcony. "Alright, Mike. Here I am."

I walk down the stairs and open the door when I suddenly hear someone knocking on my front door.

"It's probably Jean. I'll leave it alone." I go to Mike and give him the meat. "Eat, you big, smelly, old fart."

He whines and outright devours the meat in a second.

"Whoah, dude. Hehe. Someone's showing off." I kneel down and pet him. I hear the knocks on the door getting louder and louder and more frequent. "Geez. Jean just wouldn't give up. Well, I guess I need to teach him a lesson."

I stand up and stretch my arms. I pat Mike on the head twice and make my way to the stairs. I'm halfway from closing the door when it suddenly falls down.

"What the hell?" I lift the door and check what's the problem with it. "The screw fell out. That's just great."

The man at the door is still knocking furiously so I decide to fix it later. I take the door upstairs and place it at the top of the stairs.

"Let's hope Mike stays down there." I say and then walk inside. The man is just knocking on the door and it makes me really angry. I step to the door, unlock it and slam it open.

"Look Jean, fuck o-" I stop myself, looking at the person standing in front of me.

"Hey, Leo." It's the doctor from Shiganshina and the bar. "Bad timing?"

I gulp, a bit embarrassed. I take a deep breath to calm myself down.

"So... what brings you here?" I ask while trying to keep my fist from meeting his face.

"I heard you've got some troubles sleeping. I think I can help." A statement that does a bad job calming me down. I don't want help from anyone. "So, may I come in?"

"Not really." I step forward, stopping him from coming in. "I don't need your help."

The man smirks and he steps forward and pushes me aside.

"Hey!"

"Don't worry. I won't stay for long." He says as he walks to the middle of my living room.

_This guy's just invaded my house. I better get Mike to scare him away._

I close the door and start walking towards the backyard when I'm suddenly grabbed from behind.

"Where are you going?" The man asks, his eyes screaming a bit of crazyness.

"Outside." I say freeing myself. "To check on my do-"

_Oh, shit. I shouldn't have said that._

"Hahaha. No you don't." He says and he suddenly grabs a vase.

"What are you-" He grabs me by my shirt and pulls me closer. "HEY!"

I hold up my hands to block his attack, but he is faster. He hits me with it and knocks me out.

 

_**The doctor's POV** _

I did it. I knocked him out. Now there is nothing that can stop me from making my plan come to life. The plan I came up with when I first saw Leo. Even then I knew, he would be perfect. I pick him up, clean his bloody face and place him on the couch.

"Alright. Let's do this." I say and I reach into my coat's pocket which has my unique serum in it. I take my needle out as well. "Okay, so: double the dosage and inject it into the brain. One mistake and it fails."

I fill the needle with the serum and carefully place it against his head.

"Now, slowly. Hahaha. Finally! I get my own slave." I push it into his head and start injecting the serum into him. Everything is going according to plan when I suddenly hear barking which catches me off guard. "GODDAMMIT!"

I stop, still paying attention to not do any mistake. For now, everything is safe. I look behind me and there's his dog behind the glass door.

"Go away!" I shout and he keeps barking. "Stupid dog."

I turn back to Leo and continue my creation.

"When this succeeds, I'm going to rule the world." I say and I'm halfway done when suddenly I hear glass breaking. I turn around and I see the dog rushing towards me. "What the hell?!"

I shout and I lift my arm up to stop him, but it doesn't work. The dog bites my arm and I rip the needle out of Leo's head.

"NO!" I yell in pain as the dog's teeth deepen into my arm and flesh. "YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT."

I try to force the dog off of myself but it doesn't work. This dog is really strong. I stand up with it still hanging on and dragging me down. It has literally devil written in it's eyes. I walk towards the kitchen, while doing that, I drop my needle and accidentally step on it.

"NOOO!!! DAMMIT!" I growl and slam the dog against the counter, which finally makes it let go. I get a few seconds to catch my breath and I notice that it took out a huge chunk from my arm. "WHY DID JACK GET YOU?! I KNEW YOU WOULD BE A PAIN IN THE ASS!"

It stands up and jumps on me again. This time, biting my leg. I fall down, dragging some plates and some cutlery with me. I kick off the dog and it quickly bites my already injured arm. I search for a weapon with my other arm while the dog shakes its head around, trying to rip my arm off. I scream in pain as I'm still searching for something to hit it off of me. I crawl backwards when my hand lands on a knife.

"Perfect!" I grab it and immediately stab the dog in the eye. "Die!"

I pull the knife out and start stabbing the dog in the head.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIIIE!" I stabbed it so much I actually cut its head off. There's blood all over my clothes and the floor. "Shit!"

I take slow, deep breaths and I stand up to walk to Leo.

"I failed. I FUCKING FAILED!!!" I grab my hair and, out of frustration, rip some hairbreadth out. After all that hard work, a dog stops me from achieving my goal. "Now what? I failed while doing it. Now who knows what's going to happen to him. He might die right away."

All of a sudden, I hear someone knocking on the door.

"Hello? Military Police here. Is everything okay?" I turn around and walk to the door.

"Yes. Everything is... fine." I say while trying to stop the bleeding.

"Are you sure? Because we heard strange noises and yelling coming out from this house." The more pain I feel, the more frustrated I get.

"I SAID EVERYTHING IS FINE!" I yell and the officer doesn't answer. He just kicks the door down without warning. He has a partner. They draw their rifles and point them at me.

"Hands in the air!" He yells and he takes out his handcuffs. "Geez. You look bad, mate."

"Hey, Phill." His partner says, looking at the corpse of the dog. "Look."

The other officer looks at the dog and he lowers his rifle cause of shock.

"What the hell?" I pick up my needle fast that's under my foot and I notice that Leo is waking up.

_Well, time to go._

I run at the officers and push one of them into his partner. I make my way outside where I hijack their wagon.

"See you later, fuckers!" I wave at them and I slam once with the rein, signaling the horses to move. I successfully get away from them.

 

_**Leo's POV** _

My head hurts as I wake up. I still see blurry when I feel someone touching my arm.

"Hey, kid." The unknown person says and I don't recognize his voice. "Are you okay?"

I clear my eyes and I look at the man. He is from the Military Police.

"Who are you?" I ask, while holding my head which is in serious pain. But it feels like the pain is inside of my head, rather that on the surface.

"I am an officer from the Military Police. We came here after we heard some strange noises from this house and then we found an injured man and a dead dog here." I instantly look at him after hearing that.

"A dead dog?" I ask while trying to stand up.

"Yes. It's over there. Yours?" He moves aside and points at Mike. He is lying on the ground and his head's cut off.

"What the hell? What happened?" Suddenly, another officer rushes in.

"Phill, he got away. But the others went ahead to search the area on ODM, so he should be found." He says and he looks at me. "Oh, he's up as well. Sorry for your loss, kid."

He says while turning his head at Mike.

"I bet he was protecting you, kid." The man next to me speaks up. "Are in any pain? I noticed that you're holding your head."

"Y-yes... my head... hurts..." I say, while walking towards Mike, but I get stopped by Phill.

"I suggest that you don't go near him. It's a pretty bad sight." He says. "Hey, Max. Get a blanket and let's put this dog to rest."

His partner nods and he goes out. Phill bends down and looks at me.

"What happened, kid? Tell me." I rub my head where it hurts as I'm trying to remember.

"Nothing worth mentioning. He just came in and knocked me out. We didn't even talk for a minute. He just knocked me out and then KILLED MY FUCKING DOG!" I snap and Phill looks like he got caught off guard. I take deep, fast breaths and I'm filled with rage. I've just lost my closes companion and the only thing that had me connected to my dad in a different way.

"Here's a blanket." Phill's partner, Max comes back.

"Good." Phill says. "We can bury the dog here if you want."

He says, probably to me, so I just nod.

"That would be good." I say and with that, they both grab Mike and fold him into the blanket.

They take him outside the backyard where they bury him next to his little dog house while I'm crying. Just when I thought nothing will happen to me, the absolute worst happens.

_What did that fucker want? And why do I feel so strange?_

They finish, say some prayers and put the shovels back to their place. They pick up their stuff and walk outside.

"So, Phill. What now?" Max asks. "Do we get our ODM's and help the others out?"

That question catches my attention.

"Yeah, we do. Better with more people. And besides, he stole our wagon. It's payback time." Phill says and he looks at me. "Take care now, kid. We are leaving."

"Wait." I say and they both stop. "Do you use ODM gears?"

They both look at each other, raising their eyebrows.

"Yes." Phill answers. "Why do you ask?

"I've always thought that they are for the Survey Corps and the Garrison."

"Well, they were. Kinda. But we just recently started to use them. But only under heavy restrictions. For situations like this one. But now that you excuse us, we have to go." He says, salutes with Max and they both leave as I'm standing there with my jaw dropped.

"So they _do_ use ODM." I'm still looking at the two officers leave when suddenly I make my decision. "Well, fuck me. I'll join this stupid division."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8 preview: With losing his dog and learning that the MP's are using ODM-Gear as well, Leo decides he will follow Jean into the military. They both prepare for the next two years for the big day when it finally arrives. And on that day, Leo finds out that joining the military would not go exactly like he hoped to.
> 
> Chapter 8: Joining The Military


	8. Joining The Military

_"A-are you... serious?"_  
_"Yes, Jean. I'll join the military with you."_

 

   
**_Two years later_**

"Are you ready, Leo?" Jean asks as he puts on his shirt.

"Yeah... give me a second." I answer and roll onto my other side on my couch. Well, technically it's Jean's couch, but I'm the one sleeping on it. Today is the day we join the military and to avoid any meeting appointment and staying far away from each other, we decided to have a sleepover at his house. I'm always welcomed here, especially since my father died.

"Leo. Wake up." I hear Jean again.

"Give me a second!" I mutter into the pillow. I always have troubles waking up. Like I want to get up, but my body just don't want to respond. It happens almost every time. But it doesn't stop Jean. He grabs my sheets and pulls them off of me. "Hey!"

"I said: Wake, up!" He gives me a literal death stare which doesn't scare me. And I point that out with a simple sticking out tongue. We both laugh and I can hear footsteps behind me. I turn around and I see Jean's father walking towards us. He smiles at me.

"Good morning, Leo." He greets me as she pats me on the head and then walks back to the kitchen.

"Good morning to you, too." I say and stand up with both my knees cracking. "Oh, crap. That hurt a little."

"I even heard it. Are you in any pain, my dear Leo?" Jean answers and that annoying, childish and teasing voice he said it with just grants him a death stare from me. "Hmm. I guess not."

"If you're going to be like this all day, then I'm gonna fucking--"

"Language!" I get interrupted with this again, but it's Jean's mother this time.

"How can you hear it from way over there?" I ask her.

"You have a really deep voice and you don't realize how loud you talk sometimes." I get my answer from her and Jean just looks and smiles at me.

"Am I really--"

"Yes." He butts in. "You should pay attention, man."

"That's easier being said than done. If I talk quietly, no one understands me and then I have to repeat myself like four times."

"What?" Jean asks and it's obvious he's holding his laughter back.

"Fuck you." I whisper to him.

"What? I can't hear you. Speak up a bit." He laughs and I just shove him away as I make my way into the bathroom.

"What a fucking prick." I say and then I check myself in the mirror. All of my face looks clean and fine, except my eyes. "They're still yellow."

My eyes have been pretty strange this past two years. They improved by me doing nothing differently. They improved so much that I don't need glasses anymore. Only downside is that they are yellow. Like the white part of my eyes are eighty percent yellow. Jean and Karl both suggested that I should visit a doctor and after a short time, I did. The doctor said that it could be because of a lot of stress. Other than that, nothing else. This might have something to do with that psycho doctor that visitted me that one time. Since then, I've been feeling strange. Even my dreams altered a bit. Instead of dying to the same titan every time, I kill a lot more while doing... nothing. I just look at them and then they die. I have never understood this and I don't think I ever will. Even the blond person is gone. I don't understand. Not to mention the fact that the doctor has never been found. He just disappeared. They found the wagon he stole, but other than that, nothing.

After a few minutes of preparing myself, I go out of the bathroom and I see Jean already standing at the door.

"Already going?" I ask while picking up my bag.

"Why? Are you hungry?" He says as he opens the door.

"No..." I answer and I'm walked to the door by Jean's parents.

"Okay, you know the drill." Jean's father begins. "Behave well and look out for each other."

"And please, come back safe." Mrs. Kirstein says. I look at Jean who goes up to them and gives them a hug.

"Okay, first off." I say, pointing at Jean's father with one finger. "You said 'drill' on purpose, right?"

He just smiles at me while caressing Jean's back.

"And don't worry, Mrs. Kirstein. We'll be fine."

"Yeah. We will." Jean says and lets go of his parents. I step forward and offer my hand to Mr. Kirstein. He just smiles at me, grabs my hand and pulls me into a hug.

"What the--"

"Did you seriously think that you are going away after a simple handshake?" He says while rubbing the top of my head with his fist.

"Ow! This hurts. Let... me..." I try to push him off and surprisingly, I succeed. "...go!"

I step back a little as everyone around me laughs.

"That was rude." He continues to laugh. I caress the spot where he rubbed my head to ease the pain a little. Mrs. Kirstein steps in front of me and gives me a hug. "Now this is more peaceful."

She giggles and her cute giggle makes me smile and forget about the pain in my head. After a few seconds we separate and she hands me my bag.

"Please! Be safe." She says, holding tears back.

"Leo already told you! We'll be fine!" Jean says and I notice a little anger in his voice.

"I-I know... but--"

"No buts! We are going now." Jean turns around and begins to walk away from them. I look at him and then at his parents.

"Keep him safe." His mother says, tear leaving her eye.

"We will keep each other safe." I smile at her and I give Mr. Kirstein a simple nod and I leave as well. I give one last wave at them without looking back as I jog to catch up to Jean.

"Wait, would you?"

This makes him stop and he looks at me when I get next to him.

"You are the one who stayed with them." He says, starting to walk again.

"Jesus, man! They are _your_ parents and I treat them better than you." He doesn't answer. We just continue to walk in silence.

 

We walk for ten minutes when we finally arrive at our destination. There's a lot of people here who wants to join the military. Everyone has their reasons. Some want to join the Garrison or the Survey Corps, many wants to live in peace inside the Inner District. Probably many people will be disappointed when they graduate, but that is just part of life.

"Hey, Leo! Over here!" I hear Thomas calling out my name. Jean and I both turn at the direction of Thomas'es voice and we can see him standing around alone, doing nothing but waiting for us.

"Hey Thomas." I greet him as I walk up to him.

"Hi." Jean does the same.

"Hello guys." We shake hands and we just stand around staring at one another. "So... this is the big day, huh?"

"I guess it is." Jean says while knocking the tip of his shoe on the ground. I turn around to look at the people.

"A lot of people want to join." I say.

"Are you surprised?" Thomas says, making me turn back to him. "Ever since the breach that happened in Wall Maria the number of people who want to join the military drastically increased."

"Hah. Maybe a lot of them want to join the MP's. Just like us." Jean shares his opinion.

"Yeah, but still--"

"There are some though who prefer the fighting style." I interrupt Thomas. "Yeah, you're right. The majority is with the Military Police, the minority is with fighting. But who knows? They might surprise me."

We stand around looking for a minute. The people here are really quiet. Everything just feels so weird and dead. Like we are at a funeral.

"Should we..." Thomas begins, making both Jean and me look at him. He looks at us like we should know what he wants. "You know... get an uniform or ask someone where to go?"

"Where's Karl, first of all?" I ask without hesitation.

"He said he'll go to have a look around. And that we should wait for him." Thomas says.

"Then we wait for him." I say and another silence descends between us. After a few seconds however, I hear that familiar, lovable voice.

"Hey, guys!" It's Karl. He walks up to us and wants to give me a hug, but I stop him by putting my hand on his chest.

"I told you about the hugging thing." He immediately drops his smile and I pick up mine. I pat him on the shoulder and put my hand down. I look at Thomas who just shrugs, but it seems like I didn't convince Karl, because he immediately hugs me. "What the--?"

"Did you really think that was going to stop me?" He says after letting me go. I look at him without answering and I just roll my eyes. "Hey, Jean."

He greets Jean and he responds with a simple nod. He's not that close to Karl like I am. They just know about each other's existince and that's enough for them.

"Where were you?" Thomas asks him. "Seen anything good?"

"Well, I've seen thing something, but not _good_." He says, scratching the back of his head.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Yeah, what did you see?" Jean joins the conversation. Karl looks at us and points to the direction of two cadets who are already in their uniform.

"See those two?" We nod. "Faces aside, what is the difference between them?"

I take a good look at them and I notice that they both have kerchiefs on their wrist. One of them is red, the other one is green.

"The kerchiefs." I say, looking still at them.

"Correct. Now, look at those three soldiers who are sitting at their own desks. One of them is spinig that coin in his hand." We all look at them. They are sitting at desks, placed next to and like five meters form each other.

"Yeah? What about them?" Jean is a little impatient now and so am I.

"Well, here's the thing. Just like the military itself, the Cadet Corps is divided into divisions, too. Two, to be exact. And they decide which one you get into by a simple coinflip."

My jaw drops.

"Are you serious?" He asks. Even Jean looks a bit stressed.

"Yes. If you get the Northern division, you get a red kerchief. If you get the Southern, you get a green one." He finishes. We all just keep shooting looks at one another.

"So... we might not be... together?" Thomas asks, a little fear in his voice. Karl just nods without saying anything. I'm waiting for Jean to say something, but I would have better luck getting laid than getting a response from him. He's just standing in silence, giving a not so concerned look.

"Are you going to say something, Jean?" I ask, crossing my arms at my chest.

"What could I say?" He says, and sounds like he is irritated. "It looks like we just have to hope that we have a good luck."

I just sigh because he's right. I look at the soldiers again.

_We better go there now and get this over with._

I take one last look at my friends and I make a move.

"Well, let's just... go there... and do it." My worried voice must have given away that I'm not okay with this. The guys I've been preparing with for two years for military, might not be with me at all. They look at each other and without saying anything, they nod. "Okay, I'll lead."

I begin walking slowly towards the desk on the left. The others follow me. As I'm walking I turn around to look at them. Thomas is sweating, Karl is shaking _and_ sweating, and Jean is completely passive. Although I do see some worry in his eyes. All of the desks are free. I stop and turn around completely this time.

"So, who goes last?" I ask. Thomas and Karl both shrug and Jean is not really interested.

"Does it matter?" He asks and he's starting to get on my nerves now.

_What's gotten into him all of a sudden?_

He begins walking to the middle desk, I already chose the left one, so the right one is left for Thomas or Karl. Thomas looks at Karl, pats him on the shoulder and walks to the desk. I make my way to the soldier, too.

"Good morning!" I greet him. He doesn't even look at me.

"Name." He asks in the most boring way possible.

"Leo Syxton."

"Hah. What a dumb name."

_Fucking prick._

He opens his book and starts searching for my name. I was approved, so I should be on there. However, it takes him some time to find it. While he's searching, I look to my right where I see that Jean is already finished. He got the green kerchief. He goes to the Southern division.

"Here." The soldier says, scaring me a little. He picks up his coin. "Okay, so. If it's heads, Northern division. If it's tails, Southern division."

He flips the coin high into the air and, for all that it's holy, I'm praying that I get the same that Jean got. The coin lands on the desk and it's tails. A rush of excitement and happiness strikes me as I keep staring at the coin.

"Here's your green kerchief. You're in the Southern division." He hands me the kerchief and it takes me some time, but I take it. "One last question. Do you know how our salute looks like or are you really a dumbass?"

I look at him with raised eyebrow. That is a strange question. He thinks I'm a dumbass. I put the kerchief around my neck, put my bag down and salute him. That might caught him off guard, because his eyes widen. He doesn't say anything, though. He stands up and salutes as well.

"Good luck, cadet." He says and that just makes me smile even more.

"Thank you, sir." The expression on his face doesn't change. He sits down, I pick up my bag and walk back to the others, who are already waiting for me.

"Wow. Now you think that you are some messiah?" Jean says with a smug grin on his rather punchable face.

"Jealous much?" I shoot back, with the same grin. A simple 'tch' is all the response I get. I didn't even expect any different. I sigh at his pathetic attitude once again when I turn around to see that Thomas is done as well, and he's holding also a green kerchief. "Well, would you look at that?"

I say loud and happy.

"It looks like we _have_ good luck." I say to Jean.

"Yeah, probably." He says, loosening himself a bit. It looks like he calmed down a bit. Karl is the only one who didn't go to one of the soldiers yet.

"C'mon, Karl. Do it." I say, pushing him closer with my hand on his back. He almost falls over, but he barely manages to stay up. He looks at me with a scared face. "Hey, it's fifty-fifty, and we all got the same one. You got this."

He doesn't look too confident. His hands are still shaking and he tries his best to hide it. We all encourage him to go. Except Jean. With really slow steps, he stands in front of the soldier on the left. The same one I picked.

"Dude, there's no way that he's coming with us." Jean turns to me and I look at him, frowning by frustration.

"What do you mean by that?" I say, clenching my fist.

"J-Jean, don't say that." Thomas steps between us.

"Why shouldn't I?" He pushes Thomas away slightly. "There is absolutely zero chance that he gets a green kerchief. Absolutely no way. All that excitement over the past two years will be gone in one second."

I've never seen Jean act like this before. He's really strange for some reason.

"The hell is your problem?" I grab him by his shirt. He returns the gesture.

"Hey, guys, calm--"

"SHUT UP, THOMAS!" We both yell at him and turn back to each other.

"Jean, I know that you're a little stressed, but don't be an asshole about it." I push him away and he falls backwards and lands on his ass, making Thomas chuckle under his breath. He's not loud, but I can still hear him. Jean looks emberrassed, but he quickly stands up. He wipes off the dust from his pants.

"These are brand new. You have to wash them." He picks up his bag he dropped. I decide not to say anything. I notice that we got some unnecessary attention.

"GET LOST ALREADY, KID!" I hear a man yelling.

"But, sir--"

"NO BUTS, CADET!" He's arguing with Karl. "YOU THINK YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM?! I... DON'T... CARE!"

He slams his hand on the desk which makes Karl flinch and trip. He falls on his back and his kerchief falls on the ground. The color of that shocks me. It's red.

"No..." I step closer to Karl. I can hear him crying.

"Told you." Jean just had to say something.

"Jean!" This time it's Thomas who yells at him.

_Karl. Oh no._

"It's... it's red, Leo." He says while still on the ground. "It's FUCKING RED!"

I've never heard Karl curse. At least, as far as my screwed up memory goes. I kneel down next to him and his face is completely covered by his tears. He's in complete shock. I pull him into a hug and he doesn't even have the strenght to return it. He's completely broken. I really don't like when someone cries. Especially when it's someone close to me. I end the hug and turn his head by his chin to make him look into my eyes.

"Hey, don't worry." I whisper to him, as calm as I possibly can.

"But... but... I-I..." I hug him once again, kissing him on the side of his head. Out of the corner of my eyes I can see the soldier being disgusted by this sight.

"If this kid can't handle this pressure, how is he going to handle titans? Huh?" I don't answer him. I figure it's best to keep my mouth shut, even though I really want to kick this guy's ass. No one seems to care about this, except us. Everyone is minding their own business, but I shouldn't expect them to do something. It's not their problem. While I'm still holding Karl, a soldier arrives with a horse.

"Alright, everyone!" He says when he stops in the middle for everyone to see. "Those who are in the Northern division wearing a green kerchief, will leave in ten minutes! So you better be ready by then or I'll kick your sorry, pale asses out of the Corps immediately!"

He finishes and leaves. The cadets around us start to act in haste, as they try to get their uniforms and packages ready. I feel Karl becoming more and more tense. Even my heart is racing. I can only imagine what Karl must feel right now.

"C'mon, Karl. Get up." I stand up, but he stays on his knees. I bend down and pull him up. He barely manages to stand on his own. Even when I still hold his hands a bit.

"Leo--"

"Listen to me, Karl." I interrupt him. "Don't worry about this, okay? Everything is going to be alright."

"But... but... I can't be with you... in t-training." He wipes his tears away. Seems like he stopped crying for now. "This is what I've been waiting for for two years, and it's just been... destroyed."

Thomas walks beside me. His facial expression tells me that Karl should immediately get a uniform.

"Thomas." I say, still holding Karl's hands. "Where are the uniforms?"

He puts his hands on his hips and starts looking around, while Jean is just standing on his own. He looks like he's thinking about something.

"Hey, there are the changing rooms. Maybe the uniforms are there." I take one last look at Karl when I finally start pulling him towards the changing rooms. His face is read as blood, his hands are shaking and his walking is terribly unstable. He's just limping behind me. We go inside. I follow Thomas and we are followed by Jean, who is still quiet.

"Here for uniforms, numbnuts?" The soldier standing there asks in the typical offensive military fashion. We don't complain, though, we just simply nod. "Okay, there they are. Boots, pants and coats are the same, the shirts can be whatever you feel comfortable."

I walk Karl to one of the uniforms and I make him seated on the bench.

"Okay, Karl. You're leaving in minutes, so let's get you ready, okay?" I smile, which manages to make Karl calmer. He takes off his shoes and begins to change into the uniform.

_I wonder what he's thinking about._

I take off my pants and boots as well and put on the required clothing. I put my clothes into my bag and I put on the coat as well. It feels so strange since it doesn't go all the way down on my back. It only goes halfway. Strange feeling, but so powerful and happy at the same time. I look at Karl who are slowly packing his things away.

"Hey." The soldier walks up to us with pieces of paper. "You should label your bags, since they will be put on a different carrier."

He puts down the pieces on the bench with a pen as well. I take the pen and a piece and write Karl's name on it. I tie the paper to the mouth of his bag. He just looks at me and I smile.

"You're really nice. Thank you." He starts crying quietly again. I pull him into another hug.

"You're welcome." I whisper into his ear. I can feel him shiver.

"But, what am I going to do without you?" He says, eyes showing fear and pure sadness. I don't say anything to him at first. Instead it's Thomas who speaks up.

"Hey, think about this as a good social opportunity." We both look at him confused a little. He nods at me and I instantly catch on.

"Y-yeah, Karl. It's a good opportunity for you to make more friends." I say while smiling to make it more believable.

"But I don't want to make more friends! I want to train with you!" He's not crying anymore. His sadness turned into frustration and anger.

"Look, don't worry. I'll be fine. And just think about it. This will give you a motivation for you to train harder." Suddenly I hear some wagons arrive.

"Alright, you numbnuts! Time to go, but only those who are in the Northern division." I look at Karl who flinches.

"It's okay, Karl." I take him by his hand and we all walk him outside. We wait for the other cadets to get on the wagons first. They take Karl's bag away and put it on a baggage carrier.

"Okay, I guess it is time for a goodbye." I say as I put my hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He doesn't say anything. He looks like a mess. He manages to give me a hug, though. A long and painful hug. I immediately return it and I might be even holding him harder than he does me. We both let go at the same time after a few seconds.

"Alright. I go." He walks up to Thomas and slightly hugs him. "Bye Thomas. Jean."

He walks behind the wagon and looks back at me.

"Leo." He says, a tear leaving his eye.

"Karl." I say, a tear leaving my eye. As he puts his foot onto the wagon and the other cadets offer him their hands he is stopped by Jean.

"Wait." He says as he pulls him back. Karl looks confused and so do I and Thomas. Jean sighs and offers his hand to Karl. "Good luck, Karl."

Karl eyes widen. He hesitates a bit, but he shakes Jean's hand.

"Thank you." He looks at me and he finally gets onto the wagon. He sits down and the wagon immediately starts moving slowly. "If I'll have the opportunity, I'll write to you."

He says, finally cracking a half-smile. We wave at him and he waves back. After a few short moments, he's gone. We stand there in silence. Everything feels more dead right now.

"That was a... really good gesture, Jean." Thomas says, but Jean doesn't react.

"Yeah, it really was." I compliment him as well. This time, he reacts by looking at us.

"I've never thought you meant so much to him." He says.

"I told you that I'm the only real friend he has."

"Yeah, but I thought you were exaggerating." He looks down at the ground. He looks like he feels dumb. "I'm sorry for being mean today."

I don't say anything. I just step closer to him and pat the top of his head. After ten minutes, the same that happened with Karl, happens to us. The wagons arrive, they take our bags and we get on the wagons. As we are leaving Trost, I'm looking at Wall Rose and I think about one thing.

_I hope you do good, Karl._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9 preview: Joining is easy, proving you belong there is the hardest. Leo and his fellow comrades have to prove themselves to their instructor. They have to pass the aptitude test. This is where it's decided whether you're soldier material or not. Many are afraid, but not Leo. He knows he will pass with ease.
> 
> Chapter 9: Aptitude Test


	9. Aptitude Test

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long delay = Long chapter

The sun is showing no mercy to us. It has to be at least 35 Celsius right now. Out of all the times of the year, they had to put the start of the training on the hottest time of it. The sweat just doesn't want to stop pouring from my face. In the last thirty seconds I must've wiped my face at least five times. If this keeps up, I'm gonna drown in my own sweat. And as I can see, I'm not the only one battling with the hotness. A lot of the other cadets look dizzy and can't walk straight. But the higher ups don't really care. They just keep yelling at them and shoving them forward. This doesn't surprise me one bit, though. A soldier has to deal with the weather as well, not just with his enemy. We, simple cadets, are not different. The only one who seems to handle this hot mess is Jean. He is sweating, but he isn't bothered by it the least.

"Hey... Jean..." I call out to him while trying to stay conscious. "How... how... geez..."

I struggle to speak. I feel really terrible right now. I stop and lean on my knees while getting shoved by the other cadets. I curse under my breath. I figure it's not the best to anger them or make them feel uncomfortable. After all, they could be my fellow cadets.

"C'mon, Leo." I hear Jean's voice. "Don't tell me you can't handle silly warm temperature."

"Easy for you to say." I look up at him. "I heard horses can withstand _extremely_ hot temperature."

I laugh after insulting him. I always made fun of him this way and there is no reason to stop now. He doesn't say anything, he just slaps the top of my head and keeps walking. I begin to stand up straight when suddenly someone tackles me from behind and knocks me down.

"Agh... What the hell?" I say while holding my head. I hit it really badly. "Can't you watch where you go--"

I get stuck in my words when I tilt my head up to look at the person lying in front of me. He pushes himself up and moves his hair away from the front of his face. He looks familiar.

_No. No way._

"I'm so sorry. I didn't pay attention. I tripped on something and f-fell into you." He looks straight at me and now I can clearly see his face. My eyes widen at the sight. "W-what?

D-did you get hurt? If so, then I'm really sorry."

I'm lost for words right now as he makes his way closer to me. Now my jaw has dropped, too.

"E-excuse me, but... are you--"

"Armin?" I ask without hesitation. He looks confused and surprised by my question.

"H-how... how do you know my name?" I can't do anything but smile at that question, which seems to creep him out a bit. But after a few moments of staring at me, his eyes widen as well. "W-wait! L-Leo...?"

I let out a chuckle which then turns into a awkward laugh. I put my hand on my mouth and I keep looking at him; eyes widened, jaw dropped.

"Well, I guess it's a... small world." He says after he stands up and wipes the dirt off his pants.

"Well, it did get smaller a while back. At least for us." I say as I stand up. "Nonetheless, it's still strange to see you here."

I wipe my pants too and I notice him looking a bit confused.

"W-what do you mean?" He asks, slightly turning away from me.

"Don't take this the wrong way but..." I stop and take a deep breath. "...you don't look like a soldier."

He looks even more confused and his eyes are showing that he isn't quiet happy.

"I-I mean... don't take this the wrong way, but--"

"I understand." He cuts my babbling off. The tension right now is pretty awkward between us.

_Way to go. I'm such an asshole._

He doesn't look at me. He's staring all over the ground, looking insulted and frustrated.

"Armin--"

"I get it, you're sorry." He cuts me off and finally looks at me. "I'm not... mad or... anything. I'm just--"

"Armin!" He gets cut off as well by someone yelling his name, and I recognize that voice. "C'mon, Armin! Try to keep up!"

He continues to yell and I look to my left to see a brunette guy standing in the middle of the road. It's Eren. Someone I did not make a good first impression with.

"I'm coming, Eren!" Armin yells back to him and then looks at me. "I have to go. It was... great... seeing you again."

And just like that, he starts running towards his friend, leaving me feel terrible.

_I think I get it now._

 

_**Armin's POV** _

"Who was that?" Eren asks me when I get to him.

"Oh, him? Umm... it was Leo Syxton. Do you remember him?" Eren looks at me completely confused and clueless. I just sigh. "Then it doesn't matter."

He doesn't respond and we walk fast to catch up to a waiting Mikasa.

 

_**Ten minutes later on the training grounds - Leo' POV** _

"Straighten those spines, pissants! The 104th Cadet Corps boot camp starts now!" A man in a brown coat shouts and steps forward. "I am commandant Keith Shadis and you will grow to hate me!"

Wow. Straight to the point.

"Training is gonna be a wild knuckle-ride through hell." I raise my eyebrow at that statement.

_Is that... bad?_

"If I've done my job you'll be waking up in a cold sweat from memories of this place, every night for the rest of your miserable lives! Right now you're nothing! Livestock! But over the next three soul-crushing years, you'll learn to take down your own goliath! Remember this moment when you come face to face with them, 'cause here's where you ask yourself: am I a fighter, or am I food? Am I gonna be ground up by the titan's vicious wrath, or am I gonna be the one to bite?"

"Hm."

_This really begs the question: does he believe any words he says, or not?_

 

_**A few minutes later** _

"You there!" The instructor yells out to one of the cadets in the third row.

"Sir!" I hear Armin's voice. The thing I said to him suddenly strikes me again.

"Who the hell are you?!" The instructor asks him.

"Armin Arlert, from Shiganshina, sir!"

"Wow! Seriously?! Why would your parents curse you with such a dumb name?"

_Oh, c'mon! It's not dumb._

"It was my grandfather, sir!"

_He has a pretty good imagination for names. I really hope I can speak in present tense about him._

"Cadet Arlert! Why is a runt like you here?!"

"To contribute to mankind's victory, sir!"

_Is that so?_

"That is delightful to hear! You're gonna be a great snack for them! Row three, face backwards!" He orders and they do just that. Well, he turned Armin's head, so they technically just followed his lead.

_Great. At first I call him a not soldier and then Shadis basically calls him a bait. That's just fantastic._

I look at Armin's face and much to my surprise, he looks kinda determined and driven. It looks like Shadis'es hard talk didn't do anything to him. I am difficult to be impressed but I have to take my imaginary hat off before him. But I do a minor mistake here. Just like almost all the time, I zone out to just imagine and think about random things. I'm not even paying attention to Shadis and his yelling.

_Well, looks like we are finally here. Altough, I'm still trying not to pass out, but it's okay... I can take it._

I look around to search for familiar faces. Not that I know much.

_Huh. No one, yet. If Eren is here, surely Mikasa is here as well. Man... God knows what they went through two years ago. I just hope they didn't loose someone... like I did._

In a matter of seconds my mood drops and I become sad, again. I thought I would get over it completely, but very deep down I'm still haunted by that day. My dreams don't help me, either. Even if they are quiet fascinating. Scary, but still fascinating. Through all of my thinking I notice that Shadis's voice is pretty close to me.

"Listen here! With this attitude, maggot, you're gonna end up on the failure wagon which takes you right to the fields, where you can take a shovel and dig a hole for your shit and pathetic life!"

_Wow. I wonder what that kid said._

I hear Shadis walking towards me. I look at him, only with my eyeballs without turning my head. It's probably the best if I don't look out of place. As he gets closer, for some reason I become tense. My heart's beating at the speed of sound right now. He passes the girl next to me and, surprisingly, me, too. He stops in front of Jean instead.

"Now, what do we have over here?!" He asks Jean and I just smile because I just know that something is going to happen.

"Jean Kirstein, sir! From the Trost District!" He salutes Shadis, a rather good salute I might add.

"And why are you here, cadet?!" I hear Jean gasp a little. He probably isn't really comfortable with saying it to other people.

"To join the Military Police, sir! The best of the best!" Or not. I look slightly to my left and I notice Eren looking at Jean. That little information caught his attention. The question is: in a bad or good way?

"That's nice!" Shadis answers. "You wanna live in the interior, do you?!"

_Interior? I didn't hear anyone calling it that before._

"Yes!" Jean answers without hesitation and pays the price. Shadis immediately steps forward and headbutts him and he folds down on the ground, which makes me laugh. I'm just barely able to keep my composure.

"No one told you to sit, recruit! If you can't handle this, Kirstein, then forget about joining the Military Police!" I'm done. This is going to be the hardest minutes of my life. In the corner of my eyes I spot Jean standing up slowly and that makes me laugh even more. "What the hell is wrong with your face, you smiling idiot?!"

"Marco Bodt, at your service, sir, from Jinae! South side of Wall Rose! I'm here to join the Military Police and devote myself to serving the king!"

_Well, that's one way of putting it._

"Really? That's all fine and well. Endeavor for it. However..." Shadis steps closer to Marco as I'm still trying to not die from keeping myself from bursting out of laughter. "The king has no desire for your body."

_Oh... my... GOD..._

This one just adds wood to the fire. Nothing that's happening helps me.

"Shut _up_ , idiot." I hear Jean whispering to me and I start taking more breaths to calm myself down. When all of this is going on, Shadis approaches another cadet.

"You're next! Who the hell are you?!"

"Uh- Connie Springer! From Ragakko Village, sir!" A small silence occurs, but then I hear Shadis grabbing Connie and picking him up. I look over there and I see him holding Connie by his head. It looks painful.

"You have it backwards, Connie Springer. That was the first thing you were taught. That salute is a symbol that openly declares your determination to give your heart. Is your hear on the right side?!"

_Did he really salute backwards?_

The voice Connie is making is hurting my ears. It's so bad to hear that struggle. But suddenly I hear someone biting into something. Like food. Shadis drops Connie to the ground and it happens again. I look to the direction of the sound and I see a reddish haired girl eating a... potato?

_What the..._

"YOU ARE OFFICIALLY ON MY SHIT LIST! JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!?!" Shadis is furious. The girl quickly swallows the potato bite and salutes, with the potato still in her hand.

"Sasha Braus from Dauper Village at your service! Reporting for duty, sir!" She says it like she did nothing wrong.

"Sasha Braus, huh? And what is that you're clutching in your right hand?" If voices could kill, Sasha would be dust.

"A steamed potato! It sat there in the mess hall ready to be eaten, sir!" She answers back. Meanwhile all of us are looking at her shocked. Even Eren's jaw dropped.

"The theft, I understand. But here? Why eat it here of all places?"

_Excellent question. What do you got for that, Sasha?_

"It looked quite delicious. And it was getting cold. So I gave it shelter in my stomach, sir."

_That's an... interesting way to say that._

"Why? I can't comprehend. Why would you eat that potato?" It's clear that Shadis is ready to murder Sasha. But that doesn't surprise me as much as Sasha's questioning look towards him.

"Are you... asking me why people eat potatoes? I'm surprised you don't know, sir."

_WHAT?!_

After she says that, complete silence. Everyone is just... shocked. And I have no idea if I should laugh or cry at her stupidity. The wind became stronger as well. Even mother nature is confused. The look on Shadis'es face tells me everything. Irritated, frustrated and angry. All of a sudden, Sasha grabs the potato with both hands and rips a piece off and holds it towards Shadis.

"Here, sir. Have half." She says. I'm honestly confused about this.

_Is she stupidly serious or seriously stupid?_

Shadis, with little hesitation, takes it from Sasha.

"Half? Half?" Sasha grins at him, her mouth fully covered with potato crumbs. "HALF?!"

_O-oh._

 

** _Thirty minutes later, in the dormitory_ **

After some intense moments, we finally arrived at the dormitory. We got our stuff back with a little number on them. That number tells which room we are in. We don't even get to pick our own room. Mine is number three which, for some reason, is at the of the corridor. I didn't come here with Jean or Thomas, since there were a lot of people to come with. Sadly, the girls and the boys are in different buildings. But I bet that this won't stop some naughty boys or girls to sneak to the other side. I notice my room and I see someone else walking into it. If I've seen that correctly it's Marco. I arrive at the door and I see him, Jean, Connie and two other guys in there already.

"Hi, everyone." I say.

"Hi." They all say back.

"Is there room for one more?"

"Of course. Here." Connie says and points at the bunk bed's lower bed. "This one is the last one left."

One of the bunk beds's lower bed is free. I've never preffered to sleep on the upper bed when it came to bunk beds so this is perfect for me. I throw my bag down next to it and I lay into the bed right away.

"Ha! Already tired, Leo?" I hear Jean's voice as I'm looking up into the nothingness. I just smirk.

"Hey, how did that headbutt feel?" I say while putting my head into my hands and closing my eyes. I hear a little chuckle from somebody. It could be Connie.

"Don't laugh, you moron! At least I didn't salute the wrong way." Jean says, probably to Connie.

"Hey man! I was under a lot of pressure, okay? The instructor is scary." Connie says as he climbs the ladder up to his bed above me.

"If that's the case, then you should consider leaving." Jean shoots back at him.

"Jean!" I yell and even the two other guys stop talking. I look up at Jean. "Just shut up, will ya? If you're gonna be like this, then you will know what's gonna happen."

"Whatever." He says and sits down on his bed.

"Wait. You two know each other?" Marco asks us, standing on the ladder.

"Yes. We are friends." I say as I take my shoes off. "Finally. My feet are free."

I feel my bed shaking because of Connie's constant moving. I look at the two guys who are sitting on the same bed.

"Hey. I already know these guys' names." I say while pointing up at Connie and Marco. "But I don't know yours."

The blonde one looks at me first and his friend looks a bit uneasy. It looks like he's a shy one.

"I'm Reiner." The blonde one says. "And this is Bertholdt. Glad to meet you."

"Hey." Bertholdt says and he is a shy one. That or he's just tired. I just give both of them a simple nod.

"You all look like interesting fellas." Reiner says.

"Yeah, well... I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to train with all of you for the next three years." I say, laying down my side.

 

_**A couple hours later in the mess hall** _

"Yeah, okay? I saw the big guy." Eren says to the bunch of cadets that are standing around him. Including Marco, Connie and Thomas. He told someone that he is from Shiganshina and words spread fast. Now everyone wants to know what happened that day and how the titans look like.

"Whoah." His little crowd seems to be amazed.

"Really?"

"Just how big is it?" The most disturbing answer awaits all of them.

"He stuck his head over the outer wall." And Eren gives it to them.

"Whoah, wait. I hear he stepped over the wall completely."

"So did I."

"That was the rumor in my village, too."

_Seriously? What the hell?_

"Naah. He was big, but not that big."

_Agree._

"So what did it look like?"

"It had a big mouth. And no skin, just muscles." I look around and I notice that right now almost everyone is paying attention to Eren. Only Reiner, Bertholdt and a blonde girl are the ones who are not paying real attention. I even recognize the girl. She was standing next to me on the training grounds.

"And the Armored Titan? The one that broke through Wall Maria?"

"Is that what they're calling it? In all the panic, it was just another titan to me." I almost faceplant the table after hearing that. He's clearly showing off.

"No way. So what were they like?" Someone asks, clearly meaning the regular titans. I hear Eren take a sudden breath, and he just drops his spoon into his soup and puts his hand on his mouth. He looks like he's going to throw up.

"C'mon. That's enough questions, alright?" Marco says. "I'm sure he'd rather not recall everything he went through."

"Sorry. We didn't mean to--"

"It's not like that." Eren cuts Connie off and even takes a bite out of his bread. "Those stupid titans. They are really not that big a deal."

My eyes widen after hearing him say that.

Yeah. Tell that to the lost one fifth of our population.

"If we focus on mastering the Omni-directional Mobility Gear they give us, then it's payback time." It seems like something big happened to him. "I've waited years to be trained as a soldier. All of a sudden, the reality is sinking in. I'm joining the Survey Corps then I'm sending the titans back to hell. I'm gonna butcher them all."

"Hey. Are you crazy or something?" Jean asks him who is sitting in front of me. Eren and I both look at him. "Not that it's my business but enlisting in the Survey Corps sounds like a death sentence."

"I guess we'll see." Eren responds while straightening himself up. "Or at least I will. You seem to be wanting to hide in the Interior with the MP's."

_Ouch. Harsh._

"Look. I'm just speaking honestly here, kid. I think it's better than being a loud-mouth tough guy wannabe pretending he isn't piss scared like the rest of us." That triggers Eren. He almost knocks the table over while stands up.

"Are you trying to pick a fight?" He asks Jean and he's dead serious. This is escalating really quickly.

"Stop it, guys." Marco tries but it's meaningless.

"Alright, sure." Jean stands up as well and they start walking towards each other. "Makes no difference to me."

"Jean, stop!" Now I try to stop this nonsense. All of a sudden we hear a bell ringing. This means eating time is over. Jean sighs and I have no idea if he's dissapointed or glad that this whole situation needs to come to an end.

"Hey. I apologize. Sorry for calling you names and dismissing your choice of career." He says before he holds his hand out towards Eren. "Let's call it even. What do you say?"

There's a little pause before Eren's response.

"Right. I'm sorry as well." He says before slapping Jean's hand and walking away, alone. I sigh and facepalm in irritation.

"I hope you won't be like that the whole time. I don't want to--"

"U-Um... Excuse me!" I hear Jean talking in a shy way to someone. I look up and I see Mikasa turning around and Jean standing in front of her.

"Are you fucking... kidding me?" I whisper, mostly to myself.

"I, uh... I just wanted... I mean..." He stutters, of course, and that just makes me struggle to hold back my laugh. "I've never seen anyone like you before. I mean... I'm... I'm sorry. You have really beautiful black hair."

"Thank you." Mikasa says in the most boring way possible. She isn't impressed by him and I'm just resting my head on my hand, smiling. She then just turns around and leaves.

"Wooooow! Real smooth, Jean. Even I'm better than that." He frowns at me and runs outside. I burst into a little quiet laughter as I take a sip from my drink.

 

** _The next day_ **

"It's aptitude test time, so listen up!" Shadis shouts as he stands in front of a strange looking structure. "There is no place for you here if you cannot perform! Fail, and you will be shifted to the fields!"

Today we have a better weather for this so passing out won't be a problem. I look around me and I see cadets with mixed expressions. Some are determined, some are scared and some are just like whatever. That, or they are really confident.

"Alright! Who wants to have the privilege of going first?!" Shadis asks us and I just pretend that I'm not paying attention by looking all over the place.

"L-Leo? Should I go first?" Thomas asks me who is standing behind me.

"Are you stupid?" I turn around. "You never, _ever_ go first, understand?"

"Syxton! Since you are really interested, bring your sorry ass over here!" My face becomes stiff after hearing that and Thomas'es little laugh just adds wood to the burning fire.

"Yessir!" I say and I quickly walk up to him. "You heard the stuff I said to Thomas, right?"

"Maybe. Now, stand right there, in the middle!" He tilts his head to the side to show me the way and I just casually walk to the said spot. Another instructor walks up to me and attaches the ropes to my belt. He pulls them hard twice to check if they're okay and then he walks to the lever at the back. Since I'm the first one I'm doing it alone. Even when there's three more of these huge swings next to this one.

"Alright. Let's not waste any time. Pull him up!" Shadis orders and the man in the back slowly starts rotating the lever. The sound it makes is really terrifying in a strange way. I look at Jean who nods at me and I nod back. I look up to see the gears pulling the ropes up and sure enough my feet leave the ground.

"Whoah. AAH!" I start falling forward but I'm just barely able to stop myself. I hear a couple cadets gasp as I'm trying to keep my balance. Both of my legs feel heavy since those are doing basically all the work. I'm flailing my arms around to keep myself straight but after a few seconds I fall back. I can see the man behind me upside down as he shakes his head.

_Rude. At least some motivation._

"What's the matter, Syxton?! Straighten your dumbass up!"

_Better._

I smile at he man behind me who raises an eyebrow. Suddenly with a simple help from my arms I manage to flip myself up and keep myself straight. I even rest on the swing without loosing any balance.

"Hehe. This is fun!" I yell before I think a short one and do a complete front flip. "WOOOHOOO! YEAH!"

Even my fellow cadets are amazed. A lot of them cheer me and give me a huge ovation. I'm doing this with ease.

"That's enough." Shadis says and much to my disappointment, I get lowered. I remove the ropes from my belts which throws Shadis off guard.

"Are you familiar with the gear already, Syxton?" He asks, his words cutting through the air like a knife through a potato. I tense up a little, not knowing what to say.

_Should I...? No..._

"N-No, sir." I realize that I didn't sound too convincing so I have to immedediately follow up with something acceptable. "I just have really good balance, that's all."

_Hope this works._

Shadis looks at me in a weird way. Like he doesn't really believe me. I just keep staring at him.

"Very well, then. Keep this up, cadet!" He says and I walk away from his as fast as possible.

"Great job, Leo." Thomas says as I arrive next to him.

"Yeah. That was cool." Connie compliments me as well.

"Oh, guys. Thank you." I thank them as I watch the other cadets walk up to the swings.

The aptitude test went on well. Almost everyone passed without much problems. Thomas struggled a little but he managed, Jean was shaking just a little and even Armin did a fine job. But I wasn't the only one who exceeded expectations. Mikasa did it flawlessly. She didn't do a flip like I did but I think she can pull one off if she wants to. The only one who I'm right now surprised to see struggle is Eren. At the moment, he's hanging upside down as a few cadets laugh at this pathetic attempts at bringing himself up.

"What is your major malfunction, Yeager?! Straighten yourself up!" Shadis yells at him but Eren is completely frozen. His widened eyes tell the whole story. Yesterday he was talking about his dreams about butchering the titans but today, he can't even ride a swing. I shake my head in disappointment.

 

_**At night in the dormitory** _

"What's the trick to posture control?" I hear Connie ask Eren while I'm laying on my bed, facing the wall. Eren came in busting in and trying to get some help from the others about how to do this whole aptitude test. "Hard to say. Since I'm a genius, all I will say is that you just have to feel it, you know?"

"I'm just trying to figure out your trick." Jean speaks up. "What is the secret of keeping your sanity after failing in every way imaginable?"

"Please, guys! You gotta help me. I'm begging you." Eren tries but it's worthless. It doesn't look like they are going to help him.

"That's funny. Wasn't it just yesterday, you said if you can't handle the pressure, you gotta leave?" Connie is probably talking about those cadets who left after only the first day. "No, wait. Wasn't it, if you're a complete idiot you gotta leave? Something like that."

"Guys, how can you... Leo!" I hear Eren shout my name and I just clench my whole body. I really don't want to help him. "You were great at it. Can't _you_ help me?"

_Do I look like I want to?_

"Yeah, Leo. Tell us your secret. Even I want to know it." Connie doesn't help me at all.

"So, Leo? Give all of us an advice. How are you so good at it?"

_Jean, I swear to God..._

I wait a couple seconds, pretending I'm asleep.

"Leo!" But it doesn't work as Jean kicks me and I let out a grunt.

"Alright! Fine!" I say while throwing the sheets off of myself. "I tell you. Just, please, don't yell and DON'T KICK ME AGAIN!"

I swing my leg at Jean who just barely avoids it. I sit back onto my bed and the others are waiting for an answer.

"Okay. Um.. long story short, I'm good at this stuff because I already practiced." I confess and I get a bunch of surprised faces.

"What?!"

"How?!"

"Are you serious, bro?!"

"Yeah, I am." I answer and I feel superior right now among them. "My friend, Karl, you know him Jean, found a functional ODM-Gear two years ago and when I told him to get rid of it, he didn't listen to me. But honestly, when was the last time he ever listened to me in these cases?"

I reach out and grab my drink that was placed down onto the ground. I take a few sips before continuing.

"And for one and a half year, we practiced. That's all." I drink from my water again.

"Hey! Hold on a second. You had an ODM-Gear and you didn't even bother to tell me?" Jean asks and he looks a bit pissed. I finish my drink and put the glass down onto the ground.

"Listen. The reason I joined the military is because of the ODM-Gear. The reason _you_ joined is because you want to have a good life in the Interior. And besides, you did good. So I don't regret my decision of not telling you about it." I finish my little explanation and I feel nature calling me. In other words, I have to take a piss.

"But what's the trick to it? What do I have to do?" Eren asks and it's clear that he is desperate. I stare at him for a couple seconds before getting up from my bed to get into his face.

"Listen here, you big mouthed jackass." I whisper to him which makes him flinch a little. "I saw you practicing outside with Mikasa and whatever she said, I can't add nothing to it. Just like Connie said. You just gotta 'feel it'. I've learned this is on my own in one and a half _year_. _You_... have to figure it out in one _night_. Good luck with that."

I say and I leave to take a piss but not without noticing Armin giving me a disappointed look.

_Pathetic. Even Armin did it. How could he NOT do it?_

 

_**Next day** _

"Eren Yeager. Are you ready?" Shadis asks Eren who is already hooked up on the swing.

"Yessir!" He answers back, fear is not present at all.

"Proceed!" Shadis orders the cadet who is at the lever to pull Eren up. And that cadet is me.

"Sir yessir!" I grab the lever and start rotating it, making Eren raise off the ground. "This is what I call... 'the moment of truth'."

I stop when I think Eren is high enough and surprisingly, he doesn't fall off.

_He did it? No. He's doing it._

As a matter of fact, he stays completely still. He wobbles a little, but that's okay. The crowd of cadets cheer him, but that may have jinxed him because after a few seconds, he loses balance and falls backwards. The cadets suddenly go quiet as they become shocked at the sight.

"No. Not yet! Once more! I can do it!" He begs as he tries to get himself up. He fails again and Shadis is as disappointed as I am. Eren had the tough talk two days ago, but now, it seems like it's the fields for him.

"Lower him." Shadis instructs.

"NO! Leo, please... Wait!" Eren protests and we look into each other's eyes. I can see the fear and terror in his eyes. He's not going to be able to reach his dreams. I shake my head at his failed attempts.

_Poor guy. I feel kinda sorry for him._

"I said, lower him!" Shadis says again and this time I have no choice. I have to bring Eren down. I watch him as I lower him, but when he turns around and drops down onto his knees, I notice something strange about his belt. My eyes widen when I realize that it's defective. It's hard to notice, but it is. And Shadis probably didn't notice it yet.

"I'm... I'm finished..." Eren says and I hear him cry a little.

_No. You're not._

"Sir!" I decide to help Eren. Because I feel like I have to. "May I exchange belts with Eren?"

I ask Shadis and he looks at me confused.

"Why would you want that?" Now even Eren looks at me with a strange look.

"Trust me, sir! If we exchange, I believe he will do it!" I even salute to make my point stronger. Shadis looks at Eren and then back at me.

"Proceed!" He says and I'm surprised a little. Maybe he noticed Eren's defective gear. I take my belt off as I'm walking towards Eren. I kneel down next to him and I remove the ropes from his belt.

"Leo. What are you..."

"Trust me." I say and I hand my belt to him. "Please. Just put mine on."

After a little hesitation, he takes my belt and takes off his. He puts mine on and then he's hooked up again. I grab the lever and I pull him off. The look on the others'es confused faces makes me a bit amused. I'm hoping Eren doesn't screw up. I stop when it's enough, and not much to my surprise, he stays up this time. He is wobbling a little, but it's not bad. Meanwhile Shadis is holding Eren's belt in his hands.

"Good eyes, Syxton. It seems like Eren's gear is defective." He says as he shows the belt to Eren. "If given a piece of functional gear, you might not be worthless after all. It seems there's a need of checking these after maintenance."

"He... he still did it. With faulty equipment."

"Wow." The cadets are amazed. And so am I.

"Can I have a recommendation, sir?" I ask Shadis as I'm leaning on the lever.

"What is it, Syxton?"

"I recommend visitting the supply depot and crack a couple of skulls." I knock on my head with my fist as I talk and Shadis just smiles.

"I might do that. Worthless idiots."

"So you mean I... I didn't fail?" Eren asks while still hanging in the air.

"I see no problem. Now keep training, cadet!" Shadis says and Eren raises both of his arms in the air, feeling completely happy. I've never thought I would see him like this after what happened between us. He wasn't lying about his desire of butchering all the titans.

_I don't know why, but I am really happy. But since I'm an asshole..._

I grin as I walk up to him. I grab him by his coat and pull him down, making him lie horizontally in the air.

"What the hell, Leo?" He says and I hear a few cadets laughing.

"You owe me one, got it?" I say, leaning close to his face.

"Y-yeah. Of course." He swallows a big one. He looks uncomfortable in this position. "Thanks. It really means a lot."

"No problem, man." I get away from his face. "I'm gonna put you down now."

"Please do." He says and I lower him. He takes off the ropes and we both walk up to Armin and Mikasa.

"I told you you could do it." Armin says as he pats Eren on the shoulder. Mikasa just smiles a little. "And Leo, you are really nice for helping him."

He turns to me and for some reason, I feel myself tense up a little.

"U-u-umm.. again, no problem." I stutter a little as I look into Armin's eyes. I've never noticed them being so blue and... quite unique. "Anything to help."

We both smile at each other. I grab Eren by the shoulder.

"And uh... sorry for calling you a jackass last night." I say and he just takes my hand.

"Heh. No worries. I was kinda one for not paying attention for my gear."

"That one is not your fault, Eren." Mikasa says. I leave them to walk up to Jean who doesn't look quite happy.

"What? Are you mad because your little _rival_ is capable of being a soldier?" I say in a deeper mocking voice just to piss him off and I am successful. He just looks away as I'm laughing my ass off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10 preview: "Who do you have a crush on?" A question that starts the day and sets the tone for the rest of it. The guys are trying to figure out who is the hottest girl in the 104th while Leo just wants to train in peace. But as the day progresses, he starts to feel stranger and stranger about someone very close to him.
> 
> Chapter 10: Crush


	10. Crush

"Hey, Leo! Wake up! I wanna ask you something." I hear Jean's voice sweeping through my sleepy and dizzy head. I hate when I get woken up so this has to be an important question or else I'm gonna be mad.

"What is it?" I mutter into my pillow but loud enough so then Jean can hear me.

"C'mon, Leo. You have to be awake to answer me. So, hurry up!"

_I swear to God, I'm gonna kill him one day._

I sigh before pushing myself off my pillow and sitting up. I rub my eyes with my fists to try to wake up. I'm not a morning person. When I open my eyes, I see everyone in my room sitting and minding their own business. Except Eren, he's missing. I look at Jean who, for some reason, has a stupid grin on his face.

"What do you want, Jean?" I ask him before throwing my covers off of my legs. Out of the corner of my eyes I spot Jean leaning closer to me.

"Who do you have a crush on?" He says and leaves me in a pile of disappointment and frustration.

"You woke me up... for THIS?!" I slap him in the side of his head and I lay back down to rest a bit more.

"C'mon, Leo! It was an honest question." Jean says while poking my back with his finger. "Ow! That hurt."

"Leave him be, Jean." I hear Marco's voice. "I told you not to wake him up."

"Yeah. He's not for this kind of talk." Connie shares his opinion which makes me look up at him.

"Umm, excuse me, but you are totally wrong there, Connie." I throw my covers off again. "I like talking about this topic, but not when I get WOKEN UP!"

I take my pillow and hit Jean square in the face. Unfortunately, the pillow is soft as crap, so it doesn't do the damage I hoped it would.

"And to top it all, I was actually having a decent dream." I say while stretching myself.

"Really? What was it about?" Reiner asks who is standing at the door, for apparently no reason.

"It was about me kicking Jean's ass in the middle of training." Reiner and Connie both make one little chuckle. "It was fascinating."

"Yeah, I bet it was." Jean says while I lay back down again, facing the wall, away from him. "But you still didn't answer me."

He's really pushing me at this point. I growl and slap my pillow before getting into his face.

"I have a crush on your mom! Now leave me alone!" I yell and I decide to leave the room. But I can't because Reiner stops me. "What are you doing?"

"Okay. First of all, gross. Second of all, we all answered this question. So you have to answer." He says while pushing me back to the center of the room.

"Really?" I ask him and everyone else.

"Yeah. Well, not exactly." Connie says. "You see, this question kinda turned into who the hottest/prettiest girl is in the 104th."

"Really?" I ask while looking back and forth at him and Reiner. "So what's the score?"

"Well, Marco and I said Mikasa." Jean says. "Reiner and Connie said Krista, and Armin and Bertholdt abstained."

I look at Armin with my eyebrow raised.

"So you took the easy way out, huh?" I ask him as I kneel down next to him.

"Y-yeah. Kinda. This topic is really not my cup of tea." He says while clearing his hair away form his eyes. He smiles at me before returning to his book.

"What are you reading?" I ask as I take a look at the book. It contains some tips about using ODM-Gear and how to use it properly. "Tch. Seriously? If you want tips, I'm right here."

Armin's eyes widen after I say that.

"Y-you? But--"

"But what?" I cut him off. "I've stated numerous times that if you want my help, you got it."

"Huh. You want to give advice to people?" Connie asks. "But you're not even the best when it comes to ODM's."

He says while trying to keep his laughter back, but of course, Reiner's and Jean's laughters make Connie laugh, too.

"I'm sorry, what?" I ask while bending over, my arms on my hips. "Who has the highest score in ODM training?"

"Mikasa." Jean says after a few seconds of silence. Connie and Reiner laugh as I gulp in a little embarrassment.

"I meant, from the male cadets." Jean lets out a simple 'oh' while nodding his head. "And besides, that doesn't mean I can't help a friend."

"But if Mikasa is better than you, why should Armin ask _you_ for help?" Connie asks, making me a little frustrated.

"Mikasa is NOT better than me. Scores don't mean shit." I say, completely lacking self-awareness.

"Oh, _now_ they don't mean shit?!" Jean stands up. "A second ago, you wanted to brag about your scores to us."

"Because a second ago, they did." I snap back fast. "But besides the point, let's take a few steps back to the original question. Which is... wwwhat was it again, Reiner?"

I look at Reiner who is facepalming at the door.

"Hottest/prettiest girl in the 104th. The score is two for both Mikasa and Krista." He answers my question. I let out an 'ah' before starting to think about this topic.

"Hmmm... "

_Mikasa and Krista. Well, if we are looking at the hottest, it's definitely Mikasa. Her body is freaking amazing. But Krista is prettier. A little. I think. Fuck, now I don't know._

"So, Leo? Who do you say?" Connie asks me while poking me in the head.

"Fuck off, I'm thinking." I slap his hand away and get back to my thinking position. Head resting on knuckle while arm is resting on the other at my chest.

_But Annie is quite the woman as well. I'm surprised that no one said her. So, just because I want to mess with them..._

"Uuuh... I'm gonna say... Annie." I say and all I get is pure disappointment.

"What?! Are you serious?!" Connie shouts.

"C'mon, Leo! You said that on purpose!" Jean stands up from my bed and he just earns a glare from me.

"I didn't. I actually think that Annie is _really_ attractive." I'm not lying to them but it doesn't look like they believe me. Even Reiner raises an eyebrow. "Oh, c'mooon, Reiner. Guys? Can't you appreciate her beauty?"

I'm trying so hard not to laugh. My friends' facial expressions are killing me.

"Leo, please. Don't--"

"Jean, leave him alone." Marco cuts him off. "I think he is telling the truth. Why wouldn't he?"

"No, Marco!" Jean snaps back at him. "He is doing this on purpose. So then we can continue arguing about this nonsense that should have ended a few seconds ago."

"You are so childish, Jean." Armin says, closing his book.

"Why am I childish?" Jean asks him as Armin stands up and opens the door.

"Just... take a look at yourself." He says and opens the door to leave.

"Where are you going, Armin?" I ask as I grab him by his arm.

"I'm going to Eren. He is probably having breakfast in the mess hall."

"Wait. I go with you." I say and start quickly change into my uniform. "I hope it's a nice breakfast this morning."

"It's bread with soup." Marco says.

"Like always." Reiner says as he walks to Bertholdt. "Hey, Bertl! Get up!"

He shakes Bertholdt who, after a few seconds, stretches himself out and looks right at me.

"Morning, Leo." He says as he rubs one of his eyes.

"Same to you." I button up my shirt that I wear under the brown coat. "Alright, I'm done. Let's go, Armin."

He nods at me and we start walking towards the mess hall.

"What is the schedule for today?" I ask as I stretch my arm.

"First running, then ODM and then hand-to-hand combat." He answers me as we step outside the dormitory. "It's cloudy."

"Yeah." I sigh. "If it rains when we run, that will totally suck."

"It rained the last three times. I thought you said that you are used to it by now." He says. I turn my head to look at him and we just stare at each other for a couple of seconds while I'm trying to say something.

"I... am. But I want to be able to run properly, you know?" I say before I notice Eren and Mikasa sitting at a table in the mess hall through the window.

"What do you mean by 'properly'?" Armin says while doing air quotes.

"Well, you know, to not have to be careful about how you run? Because of the weather? Gosh, Armin. I thought you were the smarter one."

"What does that mean?" Armin's obliviousness is really strange. He is not really a morning person. Kinda like me.

"It means that what you are asking is..." We walk into the mess hall and I stop in front of him and turn my head towards him. "Kinda dumb."

Armin's face turns red because of the embarrassment and I just smile at him. I turn around and I notice Thomas at the table next to me.

"Hey, Thomas." I pat him on his shoulder.

"Oh, heyh hleo." He says with his mouth full. "Howh hwis... your morning?"

He finally swallows the bite he was chewing.

"It's pretty decent. Kinda had a rough start but... it's okay." I say while I look to my left to see Armin walk up to Eren and Mikasa. Mikasa notices me and we wave at each other.

"What do you mean by 'rough start'?" Thomas does air quotes too while saying that. My simple response is a sigh.

"After I get some food I'll tell you." I say before walking up to the counter. At this point, Eren notices me as well and we just nod at each other. I grab a plate and I hand it to the chef who puts soup into it. He looks bored out of his life. Like every day. I tried talking to him once but all I got was a stupid grunt in response. Since then, he looks kinda strange at me. As I reach out to grab a bread I look to my right to see Bertholdt and Reiner walk in and greet some people. I put my hand down into the basket but my hand doesn't land on a bread. It lands on someone else's hand. I quickly turn my head and I see Armin standing next to me. We both hesitate a little but eventually we take our hands away.

"I'm s-sorry." He says while, for some reason, I feel very tensed. My heart beat becomes faster and I feel my cheeks burning. I notice that even Armin's face is red.

"U-uh... n-no, no, _I'm_ sorry. I didn't notice you..." I gulp. I feel nervous and I don't know why. "...standing next to me."

Armin doesn't say anything. He just quietly grabs a piece of bread and while sending me a little apology smile, he walks back to Eren and Mikasa. I shake my head and turn back to the counter.

_What was that? Why am I feeling nervous right now?_

I grab the bread I came for and take my breakfast to the table Thomas is sitting at. I sit down next to him after I greet Daz who is sitting at the end of the table on the other side.

"So, start talking." Thomas says, like he is a superior officer or something. I growl in frustration and look at him in the eye. He acts like he did nothing wrong.

"That's one way to start a conversation." I say before I notice that I didn't bring any water with me. I look at Thomas's glass which is half empty. "My throat is dry."

I grab it and take a huge sip from it.

"Hey!" Thomas tries to get it back but I push him away since I'm a lot stronger than him. "You are such a dick."

"Sorry, not sorry." I say before deciding to actually finish the drink. I put down the glass and he stares at me for a couple of seconds. I look at him and stick my tongue out at him. He gapes at me but laughs after I start giggling.

"But, seriously. Why did your morning have a rough start?" He asks after we were done laughing.

"I was... woken up by Jean, because he wanted to know who I have a crush on." I say while I eat some of the soup which tastes pretty bad. "What the hell is this shit?"

"Yeeeaaah. It doesn't taste good at all." I struggle to swallow the soup. It makes my whole body shake in disgust.

"At least they could have warned me or something." I hear Thomas laugh.

"Did you really think that _they_ would warn you?" He is right. I should have known my friends better. "But let's go back to the topic. What did you say to Jean?"

"The truth." I say after a few seconds of silence. I push the soup away from me and decide that I should just stick with bread for this morning.

"Oh really?" Thomas asks and he puts his left arm around me. "So, who is the lucky girl to have your eyes on her?"

We stare at each other for quite a few moments and he keeps giving me that typical curious face that people make when they just can't mind their own business. I eat a full bread in a matter of seconds what makes Thomas a little surprised.

"I think..." I look around to see if she is in the mess hall. I see Reiner and Bertholdt on my right, Armin, Mikasa and Eren behind me and in front of me is Mina. The girl who is rumored to have a crush on me. Me, of all people. I finally take a look to my left and then I see Annie who is sitting by herself, finishing her meal. "...it's Annie."

Thomas nearly chokes on his bread after I say that.

" _Annie?!_ " He whispers just a bit too loud. Thanks to my quick reflexes, I put my hand on his mouth so that the others can't hear us. Fortunately, I was successful.

"Keep it down, will ya? I don't want anyone, especially _her_ , to hear it." I lean close to his face while saying that. He nods and I take my hand away from his mouth and slap his face lightly two times.

"But... are you serious, man? Can't you see how scary she is?" I look at him with my mouth on the bread I am about to bite into. I raise my eyebrows and act confused. "I mean... she is terrifying. Horrifying. Creepy."

I'm still looking at him, but I bite into the bread this time, not bothered with what he's saying.

"Freaking intimi--"

"Your point?" I finally cut him off. I'm getting a bit annoyed. "Yes, she is scary but that doesn't hide the fact that she is..."

I look at her again. She's just finished her breakfast. She stands up and we watch her taking her tray back to the counter and leaving. And while she is leaving, she notices us looking at her. I hear Thomas gasping and looking away but I don't do that. I just wave once at her but she cruelly ignores me. She walks out of the mess hall, but I had a little time to check out her lovely butt. I gulp and I feel myself tense up. I look at Thomas who is sweating like crazy.

"...really... _hot_." I wipe away a sweat from my forehead. Now I'm starting to sweat.

"W-what... whatever you say, Leo." He sounds scared and I'm not surprised. Annie is pretty intimidating. The girls are afraid of her and even some of the boys. Except Mikasa. She isn't scared of anyone.

"Alright. I think I'm done." I clap once in front of Thomas's face. "When do we start running, Mr. 'I've-just-pissed-my-pants'?"

"Not funny, man." He says as he stands up without even looking at me. "As soon as breakfast time is over, we have to--"

Suddenly he gets cut off by the bell ringing, meaning breakfast is over.

"Convenient timing." I say and I stand up from the bench to get back to the room for my belt. I suddenly remember to take my soup back but when I turn around, I see Sasha eating it with the fastest speed possible. Before I can say something, she eats the whole thing. My jaw drops and I freeze in one place. She looks at me with confused eyes.

"Oh, you wanted to finish that? I'm sorry, but I was very hungry." She says as she walks up to me with the bowl in her hands. "There are still some drops left, if you want."

"Oh no. No, no, no. I'm just... Did you _seriously_ eat that?" She nods with a cute smile. "You are unbelievable, Sasha."

"I take that as a compliment."

"You should." We both laugh mildly.

"O-kay. I see you later, buddy." She says and runs back to the table to eat the breads Thomas and I left there. I shake my head and sigh as I turn around.

_I am so glad that I have her as a friend._

I leave the mess hall alone and walk back to my room where I find Marco only.

"Leo. Did you see my belt around here somewhere?" He asks me as he checks under the blanket of Jean's bed.

"No, I didn't." Marco growls in anger.

"I can't find it. And you know what happens if I don't find it." Marco starts to sound a bit panicked which leads me getting a little worried. "T-t-t-that means t-t-t-that the i-i-instructor will be r-r-really mad at m-me a-a-a-and then he--"

I walk up to him and slap him with an object in my hand. Marco wobbles a little but he eventually drops down onto one knee. He holds his face which has a long thin white mark on it.

"L-Leo! What... what did you..." I throw down the object I slapped him with in front of him. "My... my belt!"

"It was under _my_ blanket. Jean probably hid it there just to mess with you." I kneel down and take out my belt under my bed and put them on fast. "We have to hurry. Shadis is probably waiting for us."

I walk out of the room but out of the corner of my eyes I see Marco still kneeling down.

"HURRY UP, DUDE!" I yell after I stop at the door. He gets scared and falls backwards. I facepalm and sigh before leaving him there. "What a fucking mess."

 

_**In the forest** _

_Goddamn, stupid rain!_

It did start raining. Right before we started running. I knew this would happen. Deep down, I did. Just like the last three times, the mud and water on our body are making running far more difficult than it needs to be. Of course, Shadis is on his cute little horse. Because, as the man said, he already gave his blood and energy for humanity in this training. So by that, we have to do the same. But this? This is torture. That's one thing that the road is just barely wide enough for us to run on it but when someone falls in front of somebody, they are both screwed. We've been running for at least twenty minutes and, If I was paying attention properly, four people managed to trip and fall. One of them I almost tripped on. I was just barely able to jump over him. But I can still run at a normal pace. I'm running next to Marco who is, surprisingly, not looking tired at all. I'm not tired either, I'm just surprised that the guy, who was panicking like a little girl who lost her doll half an hour ago, is able to run this much at the same pace.

"SPEED UP, MAGGOTS!" Shadis yells at the top of his lungs. He really annoys me when he does that. And I don't like being yelled at in general. It just makes me feel uneasy. One thing I should have considered before I joined the trainees. I thought I would get used to it by now, but that's not the case.

"But I think Krista is way more attractive." I hear Connie's voice behind me.

"No way, dude. Mikasa clearly takes the cake in this one." Jean shoots back. They have been arguing about this for the past ten minutes. And luckily for them, It doesn't look like Mikasa can hear them, who is of course running in front. Or she is just pretending. I'm only a couple steps behind her so it could be both since I can hear those two clearly. Unlike Shadis. I look around to check if everyone is still running. Marco, Jean and Connie are still running next to and behind me, and Reiner is way behind me, in the back. I don't see Armin and the others are in the other groups who are running. I slow down to get away from Jean and Connie and I go next to Reiner.

"What's wrong, Leo? Getting tired?" He asks me with a smirk on his face.

"No. Just wanted to get away from Jean and Connie, that's all."

"Why?"

"Well, my friend, they are _still_ arguing about who is the hottest/prettiest: Krista or Mikasa." Reiner laughs quietly to not get Shadis's attention.

"Are you serious?" I nod and a few drops of water find their way into my eyes.

"Son of a bitch!" I complain a little too loud. I put my hand instantly on my mouth and hoping that Shadis didn't hear me.

"You're okay. Shadis is far up ahead." Reiner says and I hear someone's voice behind us, as they trip on something. Two seconds later, we hear that person fall to the ground. We turn around to see who it is.

"Not the first, and not the last." Reiner says. I stare at the person who is on all fours on the ground. Their hood is off so I can see their head clearly. I instantly find out who he is.

"It's Armin." I say to Reiner.

"How do you know?" Reiner asks as he turns around.

"I recognize that hair from a mile away." I keep staring at Armin as he tries to stand up but the ground is very slippery. I'm concerned about him.

"Don't do it, Leo." I hear Reiner.

"Don't do what?" I ask and I almost trip in the process.

"I see the look on your face. Don't go back to him. You're gonna lose points if the instructor catches you." He says while still looking ahead. He sounds a bit different than the Reiner I know. I look back at Armin and back forward.

"Who cares about points?" I say and I stomp down to stop myself. I slide a few feet before turning around and running back to Armin.

"SYXTON! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?!?" Shadis shouts, but I don't listen to him. As a matter of fact, he doesn't come after me neither. I run quickly to Armin, who is not even trying to stand up. I arrive in front of him and I see him freeze. He's not moving and it doesn't look like he wants to. I slowly kneel down and lift his head up to make him look at me.

"Hey. Rough trip, huh?" I try to play it cool to make him feel a bit better.

"L-Leo? Why are you..." He tries to talk but his crying keeps him from talking. He wipes away his tears with his muddy hand, making his face even more dirty than it already is.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I must look like a mess."

"Nah. You don't." I hold his head by his chin and start cleaning his face with my somewhat clean hands.

"I... I don't?" He wonders. He was and always is the weak link. Not everyone compliments him about his physical condition. So to hear something like that from me must be surprising to him.

"I'm not joking." I finish wiping his face and it looks clean to me. "Alright. I'm done. Now, get up, and let's go! We are not far from finishing this."

"O-okay." He slips and almost falls back but I manage to grab him just in time. We look at each other and I start feel my stomach twitch.

"Uuuh... o-kayyy..." I struggle to say something relevant to the situation. Even Armin looks nervous but that is understandable. In my case, it's not.

"Would you... lead the way?" He kindly asks. I nod without saying anything and we start running. The rain eased a bit so it's easier to run now, although it's still very slippery. We run in silence next to each other and every now and then, I look at him to see if he can keep up with me. But every time I look at him, I can't keep myself from staring at him for too long.

_Why am I staring at him this much? God, it's annoying._

"Why did you help me?" He asks and thankfully knocks me out of my train of thoughts that is going through my head.

"Because, you are my friend and I care about you enough that..." I make a terrible mistake while I'm talking. I look at him. At that moment, I freeze. We run in silence as I'm staring at him. After a few seconds, he looks at me and I instantly turn my head to face forward.

"Is... something wrong?" He asks and he sounds exhausted.

"N-no! Of course not!" I lie to him and I don't even think he believes me. The way I said that made it obvious that there is something wrong. He doesn't say anything, though. After we run for two minutes, Armin suddenly slips and falls forward. Luckily, my reflexes are on point and I grab him just before he hits the ground. "Whoah there."

I help him stand up straight and he leans on his knees.

"I'm... sorry. I must've tripped on something or--"

"Or you are just tired." I cut him off.

"N-no. I'm not. I can make it." He says and after a few seconds, he starts running without me.

"I don't doubt that." I say as I watch him run, mostly to myself. I catch up to him and when we turn a corner, we notice the training camp just a couple more miles away.

"Look! There's... there's our..." Armin tries to speak but he is too exhausted.

"I see it." I say and I take another look at him.

_How are you even standing right now?_

I was never the type of guy who would bash Armin and criticize him for being weaker than the rest of us. But there are moments like this, where it would be expected from him to drop dead right next to me. But today, he can keep up, even though I am running at the slowest speed possible. I'm not even running, it's more like very slow jogging. Five minutes later, we arrive at our destination and as soon as we are there, Armin collapses next to me, but I catch him again.

"Armin!" I hear Eren's voice from a distance. I pick up Armin to take him inside the infirmary. "How is he?"

"Don't worry. He's just tired." I throw him up slightly to get a better grip on him. "And heavier than expected."

Mikasa walks to us as well but she doesn't anything. She just gives me a strange look which I don't know if it's a 'thank you for taking care of him' or something else entirely. I take Armin into the infirmary where a nurse comes towards us.

"Oh my god. What's wrong with him?" She asks as she checks him.

"He collapsed after we were done running. I'm pretty sure he's just tired." I say and I put Armin down onto a bed.

"We have to get him out of his clothes. He might catch a cold in them." She suggests.

"Got it." I say and I sit Armin up to take his clothes off. I move my hands slowly, not to accidentally hurt him or something. The nurse comes in with those typical infirmary clothes they give to patients.

"Put these on him. He can stay in these until his clothes dry." I nod and I throw Armin's clothes on the ground.

"Soaking wet, hella cold... Man, Armin. You were really holding on, weren't you?" I strip him from his clothes completely and with the nurses's help, Armin is in brand new, dry clothes.

"What did you say, when did he pass out?" The nurse asks me as she picks up Armin's clothes from the ground.

"Seconds after we arrived. We were done running and he thought 'Hey, I pass out now' and BAM. He was out." I hand the nurse Armin's pants which she forgot to take.

"Thank you. Uuum... You don't have to stay here. If what you're saying is right, we should just let your friend rest." She says and she goes out of the room. "Have a good training, cadet."

She leaves the door open and with slow steps, she walks away. I take a look at Armin who is deeply asleep. I put my hand on his forehead to check if he has a fever.

"You are fine." I sigh. I'm very worried about him. He was literally dying next to me the whole time we were running and he didn't say a thing. "Why didn't you tell me to carry you, Armin? It's not a shame if you can't complete the training. Argh, I bet the others are freaking out right now."

I look out the window and I see Marco walking with a bottle of water in his hands.

"Hm. I wonder if they even know yet." I turn away from the window and I lean over Armin. "I hope you have a good sleep."

I pull his blanket up a bit more and with a concerned smile, I leave the door. With one last look at Armin, I close the door behind me. I stand in front of it for a couple of seconds before shaking my head.

_I hope no one is panicking._

I walk out of the infirmary and I make my way back to the mess hall where I find everyone quietly sitting. As soon as I step into the hall, Eren jumps up and walks to me.

"How is he?" He asks and a couple of our friends walk up to us as well.

"He's fine. No fever, no cold... just exhaustion." I answer Eren's question and I start feeling even more terrible. Eren's concern about Armin is admirable.

"So he's going to be okay, right?" Connie asks and I just nod without saying anything. And while I do that, I notice Mikasa putting his hand on Eren's shoulder who layed his head down.

"Well, that's a relief. Right?" Sasha speaks up and I nod at her, too.

"At least he collapsed right when we arrived, so he got proper medical attention right away. He's tougher than he looks. Trust me, he'll be fine." I'm looking at Eren while I'm saying that even though he's not looking at me. He's staring at the ground. I move closer to him and I put my hand on his other shoulder. "C'mon, Eren. You can take my word on this one."

"Yeah, Eren. Listen to Leo." Reiner says. There is a long pause before Eren decides to say something.

"Alright." He gulps. "I take your word."

I smile at him and Mikasa removes her hand from his shoulder.

"Now." I clap. "Can you please, make way so I can get some food?"

I say to Reiner and Marco who are standing in front of me. Without saying anything, they move aside and Reiner even points the way with his hand.

"What a fucking gentleman." I murmur under my breath.

 

** _One hour later - ODM training_ **

I slice the bag on my target's nape and I instantly slice the next one. I'm pretty good right now.

"C'mon, Leo! I can do that twice as fast!" Reiner yells from behind me. I laugh once and I turn around to look at him.

"Oh yeah?! Mr. Tough Guy?! Let's see if you can keep up NOW!" I turn back and I notice three targets in front of me. I smirk to myself, thinking I have the advantage, but on my right, I see Mikasa flying by me. She is very fast. I blink a couple of times and she already took out all three targets. My jaw drops and aftet that, Reiner arrives next to me, laughing.

"Hehe. It looks like she can keep up." I growl out of anger.

"No one takes my targets and gets away with it. I TAKE THAT AS A CHALLENGE, MIKASA!" I yell at the top of my lungs to make sure she hears me. She looks at me but doesn't say anything. She keeps going and that makes me even more angry. I speed up and I'm following her close behind. I spot two targets on our right. I smile and get cocky right away. I shoot both of my lines into two trees that are standing opposite to each other and with every power and momentum I have, I slingshot myself towards the targets. I scream out of joy as I slice through both of them. "YEEEEHHHAAAAAH!!!"

I cheer again and I'm staring at Mikasa who only rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, you better roll your eyes. Because you can't compare to me. HAHAHAHA!" I look ahead of me to see where I'm going and the sight scares me. "OH SHI--"  
I shoot my right line at a tree on my left to prevent myself from crashing into the tree, but I'm too late. I hit the tree at a massive speed and I fall down on the ground, knocking myself out in the proccess. When I open my eyes, I see Reiner, Mikasa, Connie and Sasha in front of me.

"He's waking up!" Sasha shouts, right into my ears.

"Well, he does have his eyes open, but is he conscious enough?" Reiner asks and he kneels down in front of me. "Focus. Look at me. How many fingers am I holding up?"

He holds up three of his fingers but all he gets from me, is a middle finger.

"He's fine." Reiner sighs and rolls his eyes out of irritation. He offers his hand, which I'm more than glad to take, and he helps me stand up.

"Seems like someone was a little too excited." Mikasa says and I hear Connie and Reiner laugh.

"Ha-ha. Very funny, guys." I say to them while I wipe the dust away from my uniform. "Just laugh more and I will punch you in the face."

"Uuuuu. Is _that_ a challenge, Leo?" Reiner taunts me.

"A challenge for what?" I ask, a bit confused. He doesn't say anything, only smiles at me and I suddenly remember why he's saying that. The next training is hand-to-hand combat.

 

**_ Three hours later - Hand-to-hand combat_**

Reiner goes for a single leg takedown, but I jump over him with a front flip and I kick him in the butt. This angers him a little, but he decides to keep it safe for now. I hold my fists up and I scare him with a quick step forward. He doesn't move back though, but instead, he actually attacks me. He gets in one punch into my gut but I manage to avoid the next three strikes and I hit him in the face with a right jab. For the past five minutes, we've been trying to get each other's fighting styles broken down, but it doesn't really work for either of us. I go for a punch to the face but Reiner ducks and I just barely avoid a punch to my face. I go for a couple low kicks to try to get his attention on my leg. I go for one last low kick for his leg, but this time, I pull my leg back and I jump forward and I punch him square in the face. He wobbles a little, but I don't give him time to recover. I go for a kick to the face to finish him off, but he catches my leg and throws me a few feet away. The next thing I know is that he's running and screaming right at me. He goes for a punch, but I crawl away and he hits the ground. This gives me some time to reposition myself. He shakes his hand he punched the ground with and wipes his nose. We are getting a bit exhausted, but I don't attack him, because while we were fighting, I noticed something strange.

"Are you holding back?" I ask him and this question catches him off guard.

"Holding back? What? Why would I do that?" He asks me while frowning at me.

"I don't know. You tell me."

"How do you know I'm holding back?" I gape at him and this little conversation gives me a little time to get some of my energy back.

"C'mon, dude. Look at the size of you. I mean, I know we are the same height, but you are much muscular than I am." I say and I take a little step forward. I'm planning on hitting him while he is distracted.

"You're right. But you are a really good fighter. I can barely keep up with you." He says and he starts wiping dust from his knee. "But luckily--"

I don't let him finish because I go for a punch. But unfortunately, he was ready. He sidesteps me and knees me in the stomach. I drop down to the ground and he kneels down behind me and whispers into my ear.

"But luckily, I can tell when someone is using a distraction." I hold my stomach with one hand and with the other I grab some sand off the ground.

"Yeah. And luckily...!" I yell and I throw the pile of sand right into his face. "... I'm a fast thinker."

I jump up and hit him with an enziguiri. He drops down onto one knee and I kick him in the side of the head and he falls down completely. I bend over, holding my stomach and I start laughing, because I know that I have this fight won. I look at Reiner who is trying to stand up but he doesn't even know where he is at right now. I laugh some more and I take a look at my left and I see something amazing. I see Armin talking to Eren and Mikasa. It seems like they let him out of the infirmary earlier than expected. I smile and he notices me as well. He waves at me and I wave back. Suddenly, I hear Reiner roar and he tackles me down to the ground. He pounds on me and puts me in a choke hold. I struggle to get some air and his big arms are making it very difficult.

"That's not... fair. I was... distracted." I can barely speak. I'm running out of air fast.

"Oh, so _now,_ it's unfair to use distraction as an advantage, huh?" I look at Armin who is watching us with Eren and Mikasa. I try to force Reiner's arm off of me, but he is stronger than me. He tries to put his legs around me but I manage to roll over onto my sides. I knock my head back to try to headbutt him and it's successful. I hit him again and for the third time, he moves his head while loosening his grip around my neck. I use this opening to get myself fully under Reiner. He's still holding onto me and that's why I'm able to pick him up. I stand up with him on my shoulders and I fall backwards, dropping him hard on the ground. He lets out a grunt and lets go of my neck. I turn around and hit him in the face with three straight rights before I mount him and I put both of my thumbs in front of his eyes.

"Now's the time when I would poke your eyes out." I say while he struggles to get some air. "Which means, you lost."

He looks at me angry for a couple of seconds but in the end, he calms down. I get off him and I offer my hand to him.

"It was good, wasn't it?" He takes my hand and I pull him up.

"It was decent." He says and I stare at him in silence for a couple of seconds. He cracks a smile and because of that, I start laughing. He laughs as well with me and after we are done, he turns me to Armin's direction. "I saw what you were getting distracted with."

He says quietly into my ears. I wonder why he's talking like that all of a sudden.

"Y-yeah, I see. I go... talk to him."

"You do that, mister." Reiner says and I start walking towards Armin. He notices me and he comes up to me with a smile on his face.

"Hi, Leo." He seems very happy.

"Hey, Armin. How are you?"

"I'm fine. The nurse said that I can leave the infirmary, so I did just that." He seems like a completely different person from the one that was dying in the rain a few hours ago.

"And uh... thanks for... taking care of me and... helping me."

Here is the shy Armin I know. That escalated quickly. But right after he says that, I feel something strange again. And my cheeks are burning.

"Uuuh... no... problem, man. Anytime." I feel a bit nervous again and I feel my stomach twitch and I just lay my head down. We stand in an awkward silence. I'm staring at the ground and Armin is holding his upper arm. I don't know what to say.

"Hey, Armin!" Thankfully, Reiner walks up to us.

_God bless you, Reiner._

"Oh, hey, Reiner." Armin greets him back and then Reiner smirks at me. I spread my arms to signal him that I don't understand why he's smirking. He shakes his head while letting out a chuckle.

 

**_ A few hours later _ **

We are done with training for today. I fought with Reiner two more times and I managed to whoop his ass one more time before he beat me. Even Armin joined to Eren and Mikasa but he didn't do much. They were going easy on him. Right now Sasha, Connie, Reiner, Bertholdt, Jean, Marco, Ymir, Krista, Armin and I are in a little house, chilling and relaxing. We don't talk much, we mostly sit in silence. Thankfully, Jean and Connie stopped talking about who the hottest/prettiest girl is in the 104th. That doesn't mean they came to an agreement, though. I hold a little bottle in my hand which still has a few drops of water in it. Or something, I don't think it's water, it tastes awful. It could be some shitty wine, but I know what wine tastes like. Sometimes, I grab one of the bottles from the market whenever we are allowed to go there. Of course, we are not allowed to drink wine here, but that doesn't stop me. No one is ratting me out and I know how to keep secrets away from Shadis.

"Are you finished with that drink, Leo?" Sasha asks me and I open my eyes to see her standing over me.

"I could be. I think it still has a few drops in it." I look inside the bottle and I do see a little bit of liquid in there. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, if you drink that, then we can play a fun little game." Sasha says with the happiest smile I've ever seen from her. I shrug and finish my drink.

"Okay, I'm done. What game are you thinking about?" I hear Jean chuckle.

"Do you seriously want to play a game right now?" He asks Sasha who takes the bottle from my hand.

"Yes. May all of you please, sit in a circle here?" She points at the area around her while keeping her smile. I look at Reiner and Bertholdt and the previous shrugs and sits in the middle. Bertholdt follows him.

"Alright! Let's play!" Connie cheers as he joins them. I look at Jean who only rolls his eyes, but after a few seconds, he sits down next to Connie.

"Whatever." He whines. Marco follows him and eventually, we all sit in a circle while Sasha is standing in the middle.

"Okay. Is everyone comfortable?" She asks us and we all say yes in a typical boring fashion. "Wow. That's some game spirit. Alright. Does any of you ever heard of a game called 'Spin the bottle'?"

I raise my eyebrow in confusion and the others are quiet as well.

"No one. Okay. Well, let me explain the rules. One of us spin this little bottle in the middle of the circle and whoever it's open end is pointing at, that person needs to kiss that other person." My jaw slowly drops and I put my hand on my mouth to prevent myself from bursting out into laughter.

"Woah woah woah! Are you serious?!" Jean complains and Sasha nods. I look at everyone's face and no one is as amused as I am.

"Sasha, we are NOT doing that." Connie says as he stands up. "There are a lot of guys here. That's not cool, man."

"But that makes it even more fun."

"No, it doesn't." Reiner stands up as well.

"Y-yeah, Sasha. That's really not a good idea." Armin says and I slap myself soflty to make myself stop laughing.

"B-but guys! Don't leave, please!" Sasha says to Reiner and Connie, who are trying to go through the door, but she stops them. Not for long though, because Reiner just picks her up and puts her away from the door. They are about to leave when I think of something interesting.

"Oh, come  _on_ , guys." Ymir starts talking. "Don't you want some guy-on-guy action?"

She laughs as she cuddles Krista.

"Y-Ymir. Don't be like that to them." Kirsta slaps Ymir's arm lightly. "If they don't want to, just let them be."

Ymir looks at Krista a bit confused.

"Whatever man, I'm outta here." Connie says and he and Reiner almost walks out the door when I have an idea.

"WAIT!" I yell at them and they both stop and look at me. "How about we play this game, but put a little twist on it?"

A silence falls into the room. Everyone is looking at me confused.

"What do you mean?" Marco asks.

"Well, since the guys are not very comfortable with kissing other guys, how about, that the person who is spinning the bottle, gets to pick a choice? Kiss... or slap?" I say and suddenly, the expressions on the others's faces are a lot more friendly.

"That's... not bad." Connie says as he walks back to the circle.

"This does make it more interesting." Reiner closes the door and sits back down into the circle. I look at Ymir who is smirking at me. I have a guess about why. Krista looks a bit worried, though. I figure she knows why Ymir is smirking.

"Hurray! Now we can finally play. Who wants to go first?" Sasha asks as she holds out the bottle at us.

"The one who's asking." Jean says and we all nod in agreement.

"Okay. If that's what you want." She crouches down and spins the bottle. It spins for a few seconds before stopping at the person it points at is me. A few people ooh and I gulp a little. "Ooooh, Leeeooo."

_Oh, no._

I'm not afraid of Sasha kissing me, the reason I'm a little afraid is that I have no idea what she's going to do. She moves slowly towards me and kneels down in front of me.

"Normally, I would slap you..."

"Oh, really?" I say immediately. I'm a bit scared.

"...but, since you brought this amazing plan up, you deserve a reward." She says and grabs me by my hair and she mashes our lips together. I kiss her back and we stay like that for a few seconds. The others are laughing and cheering. My cheeks are burning and I feel my tree growing. We both pull away at the same time and Sasha even lets out a groan. Reiner, Jean and Connie clap and I feel surpringly happy. It was my first kiss, after all. Not the way I imagined, though.

"Wow." I say as I wipe my mouth with my hand. Ymir's laugh starts to annoy me, though.

"That was..." Sasha tries to say something but she decides to stay quiet. She hands me the bottle. "S-spin, please."

I take the bottle and shake my head before giving the bottle a very good spin. I calm down as I see the bottle spin and I notice Reiner smiling his ass off. His face is about to explode. I'm staring at Sasha as the bottle stops and it points at Jean.

"O-hohohoooh. That is--" He doesn't have time to finish because I immediately crawl to him and slap his face as hard as I can. He falls onto Marco and I see that my hand left a mark on his face. The others laugh and I shake my hand. That even hurt my palm a bit. "What the... hell...?"

He almost cries as I pridefully crawl back to my place in the circle.

"Jean!" Reiner shouts and he stands up. He points at Jean. "You got FUCKED UP, BRO! HA-HAHAHAHAAAA!"

He is very happy about this. It's almost like Jean has been his bitter rival in the past year.

"This night is getting better and better." Connie says and I look at Armin with a smile on my face. He doesn't look too comfortable. I smack his arm lightly.

"Cheer up, Armin." I whisper to him and after a few seconds, he smiles at me. While holding his face, Jean spins the bottle. It doesn't spin very fast and it stops right away. And the person it points at is Marco. We all start laughing at Jean, except Marco, who is feeling really embarrassed right now. At least, that's how he looks.

"C'mon, Jean. Make a move!" I say and Jean, without hesitation, slaps Marco. Marco doesn't really react but that's probably because Jean is still suffering. After all, he's been silent this entire time.

"That was WEAK, Jean." Reiner says as he waves his arms around. He's really getting into this. Bertholdt asks him to turn it down a notch but this is Reiner we are talking about. He doesn't do that shit. Without saying anything, Marco slowly stands up.

"What are you doing, Marco? It's your turn." Connie says.

"I... I'm sorry, but... I uh, really have to go to the bathroom." He says and he quickly walks to the door. "J-just skip my turn."

"When you get back, you spin!" I shout after him, but he ignores me and storms out. We all look at each other confused, but then Connie takes the bottle.

"Okay. I go then." He spins it ridiculously and it almost spins into Bertholdt. The bottle stops and it points at me again. I look at Connie and he smirks at me.

"So this is funny, right?" I smile back at him and he moves closer to me and rolls up his sleeves.

"I've been waiting a long time for this." He says and he limbers up his hand.

"Huh. Aren't we all?" Reiner says and this time, his smirk is making me really flustered.

"Alright, big boy. I'll make sure that this stupid bottle points at you." I say and Connie lifts his hand up. "Give me everything you got."

I say and then Connie slaps me. And it is pathetic. I barely feel it and the others start to complain as well. And by others, I mean Reiner only.

"What was that?!" Reiner tries to stand up but Bertholdt keeps him down. "Even my grandmother can hit harder than THAT!"

I shake my head at Connie who decides to just stare at the floor and stay quiet.

"O-kay. My turn." I rub my hands together and I try my best to make the bottle point at Reiner. I spin it. "You are sooo getting it."

"Oh, am I?"

"Yes, you are."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then you better look at the bottle." He catches me off guard with that and I do notice that the bottle has stopped spinning. It's not pointing at him, but instead, it's pointing at the person next to me. Armin. "See?"

Reiner's smirk widen and I get nervous and angry at the same time. Armin and I look at each other and we are both totally not cool with this.

"O-okay. Don't... hold back. You can hit me." He says, but he doesn't sound too confident. I adjust my position to sit opposite to him and we sit in silence.

"Alright. Here goes nothing." I say and I start lifting my hand up, but I suddenly freeze. I look into Armin's eyes and I start having a strange feeling. My hand starts shaking and something tells me that I should move closer. I move my hand on the floor closer to Armin's and he starts to look confused.

"L-Leo...?" His eyes are hypnotizing me. I don't know why but I can't bring myself to slapping him. Everyone is quiet and I don't know what to do.

_What am I doing? Why is he so..._

I lift my other hand up and I move it next to Armin's face. I don't touch him and he is very confused right now.

"What are you... d-doing?" I wish I had an answer for that. The feeling I have right now is very similar to the one I had when Sasha kissed me. I almost touch Armin's face when the door suddenly opens. I jump back a little as the door's sound brings me back to my senses. I expect Marco to walk in, but it's Mikasa instead.

"Leo. The instructor wants to see you." She says and she leaves right away. There's silence in the room for a couple of seconds. Everyone is staring at me, but I decide to stand up and leave.

"Hey, Leo! You can't leave! It's still your t--" Reiner yells after me but I slam the door behind me.

 

**_ Armin's POV _ **

Leo left the room without a word, leaving us in a pile of curiosity. The others look at me and we don't know what to say. I look at them back and forth and I feel nervous. My whole body is shaking.

"What was that?" Connie asks and I wonder the same thing too.

"Did he just... want to give Armin... a _kiss_?" Jean asks who got awake after the slap Leo gave him. His question makes my cheeks heat up and I tense up.

"Noooo. He didn't. He just... didn't want to slap Ar... min..." Sasha's voice fades away as she realizes what that actually means. She gasps and puts her hand on her mouth. "Don't tell me--"

"N-no!" I interrupt her. "Leo didn't want to kiss me."

I look around to see everyone giving a questionable look.

"R-right?" I look at Ymir who just shrugs and smiles at me before taking the bottle.

 

_**Leo's POV** _

Before I go to Shadis's office, I storm into the bathroom to wash my face. I furiously start washing my face.

"What the hell?! What was that? What's the matter with you?!" I'm angry and confused. "Did... did I have... Why did I hesitate?"

I wash my face a couple more times and even drink from the water.

_When I looked into his eyes, I froze. What the fuck?_

I remember back how I felt and it feels very familiar.

"It's the same feeling I got when Sasha kissed... me..." I go quiet as I remember something. Something, that started this whole day.

_"Who do you have a crush on?"_

I almost pass out when a sudden realization hits me.

"Oh my god! Do I... Do I have a crush... on _ARMIN_?!?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11 preview: Teamwork. It's one of the key elements to success in the military. Leo and his friends are about to find this out, when on their mission, something goes horribly wrong.
> 
> Chapter 11: Unexpected Guests


	11. Unexpected Guests

I breathe heavily as I keep washing my face in the bathroom. I'm still not over the things that happened. I stare into the mirror and only a confused and shaking mess looks back at me.

"No, no. No, no, no, no. I do NOT... have a crush... on Armin. Th-that's..." I stutter and my head is about to explode. "...not possible."

I drink from the water. I can't bring myself to calm down. I stare into the sink in shock and I notice my hands shaking. I shake my head and lightly slap it with my right hand. I wash my face _again_ and I close my eyes before taking longer breaths. I inhale, count to four, exhale, count to four, repeat. This is a little trick Mrs. Kirstein told me about when I was feeling depressed after my father's death. I've never thought it would work but she's proven me wrong. It actually works pretty well. I do this five times before I finally calm down. I wash my face for the last time and then I wipe my hands.

"T-This is... no. I'm just tired, and confused. That's all. I'm not-" Suddenly, I hear someone sneeze. I tense up immediately and I slowly look at my right where the noise came from. I start shaking again and I'm very scared.

_Did... did someone hear me? What the fuck?! No fucking way!_

I look at the five toilet stalls in front of me. I look slowly down and I notice a pair of feet in the middle one. I look up at the door and I'm just furious as hell. I ranted about me probably having a crush on Armin and someone was in here the entire time. I let out an angry growl and I slam the door open, without saying anything.

"N-no, please!" It's Marco. I gasp a little as we gaze at each other for a couple of seconds.

"How much-"

"I'm sorry, Leo!" Marco interrupts me. "I didn't mean to-"

"How _much..._ did you hear?" I interrupt him, too while sending him a flustered and angry glare. Marco flinches and gulps a big one. He is even sweating a little.

"E-Enough." That's all he says. Another silence ocours and I'm just knocking on the floor with my foot and furiously looking around, trying to get rid of my frustration. "B-But... don't worry. I won't tell anybody."

I freeze for a second but then immediately lean close to Marco's face.

"You're damn right you won't." I whisper and Marco lets out a quiet squeak. I lean away from him and he lets out the breath he was keeping in. I turn away to start walking but I stop. "What are you even doing here?"

I say before looking at him again. I send him cold glare and his whole body becomes stiff. He's shaking a little.

"I-I-I ummm... uhhh..." He stutters and can't really put a simple sentence together. He's nervous as hell and something is clearly bothering him. But I'm too angry to care. I shake my hand and turn away. "Wait! Le--"

Marco tries to stop me but I slam the door into his face. I hear him fall down and I probably heard the toilet break, too. I walk out of the bathroom without caring too much and make my way towards Shadis's office. This day just can't be any worse now.

_Why? Why, why, why, why?!?! Why is my luck so bad?!_

As frustrated and angry as I can be, I arrive to Shadis's office. But, before I knock on the door, I hear someone talking in there.

"And what about Cadet Syxton?" A man asks. I immediately stop myself from knocking on the door. I step closer to the door to hear why they are talking about me.

"Syxton, huh?" Shadis begins. His voice making me concerned. "He's good at slicing the nape, I give him that. But... he is easily distracted. And too boastful."

My jaw clenches a bit. I put my ear on the door to hear him better.

"Boastful?"

"Yes. And a bit too cocky. Just like today. He smashed against a tree because he was too busy taunting Ackerman, because she took three targets away from him." I look around in fear as I'm too afraid of someone noticing me. And the thought of one of them opening the door creeps me out even more. "He was yelling and screaming, just like every single time..

There's a little silence and I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack.

"But, despite all that, I still think that he is--" Shadis doesn't have the time to finish his sentence because I hear someone walking towards his office, so I'm forced to knock on the door and open it.

"Y-You wanted to see me, sir?" I step inside and I see Shadis sitting at his desk and another man sitting in front of the desk. He is wearing a Survey Corps uniform. "U-Um..."

I salute the man who just stares at me. Blond hair, blue eyes and huge eyebrows. Looks like an elite soldier to me. He stands up when I slowly make my way to Shadis's desk.

"I should be going." He says. "It was a nice talk, Keith. Keep up the good work."

"You do the same, Commander." Shadis says and my heart almost stops beating at hearing that. I gape at the Commander and he notices me. He smirks without a word and walks out of the office.

_No way. That was the Commander of the Survey Corps? What is he doing here?_

"Syxton." Shadis's voice knocks me out of my thoughts and I look back at him. "Yes, that was him, if you were wondering."

I gulp as I try to be calm again.

"W-what do you need, s-sir?" I try to sound like there's nothing wrong with me. I don't want him to ask me dumb questions. He stares at his papers for a few seconds before

looking up at me.

"I'm gonna make this quick. So, pay attention!" My body becomes stiff and my heartbeat quickens. "First off, the Arlert incident. I--"

"Sir, I understand that I shouldn't have turned back." For some reason, I interrupt Shadis. I have no idea why, I just did it by instinct. "B-But, I--"

I stop talking when Shadis sends me the angriest glare I have ever seen from him. A drop of sweat pours down my cheek and I gulp once again.

_Fuck me._

"As I was saying..." Shadis sighs and I just want the ground to swallow me right now. "...I wanted to ask how he is doing."

I loosen up a bit after hearing that. A sign of relief. This isn't what I expected.

"He is... doing okay, sir." My heart starts beating fast again. Just the mere thought of him is enough to make me feel uneasy.

"Is that so?" Shaids asks me as he grabs a sheet of paper.

"Y-Yes." I try not to talk too much, as I want to avoid Shadis asking me if there is something wrong or not.

"Just so you know, I'm not going to punish you for turning back. If you didn't, then who knows what would've happened to Arlert." Shadis's comment makes me feel better almost immediately. At least I don't have to worry about punishment.

"Thanky you, sir. I... appreciate it." Shadis lets out a grunt and places the sheet of paper in front of me.

"Take a look at that." He says and I hesitantly pick it up. "That is your group for tomorrow's mission."

My jaw slightly drops as I look through the names: Eren, Jean, Armin, Sasha, Connie, Marco, Krista and Mina are listed as my group mates. But Marco has the word group leader and Armin has the word record-keeper next to their names.

"Um, sir, what do these words mean next to--"

"Everything will be explained tomorrow. I'm just showing you this so then you can tell those maggots to have a really long sleep. Tomorrow's exercise will test your strength both mentally and physically. And we will also test your abilities to substain yourselves in the absence of a crisis." I frown at him in confusion, but I nod nonetheless. "Now, be gone!"

He orders me. I salute and I walk out of his office. I hurry back to the little house we played in, open the door and I see that everyone is still there and quietly sitting all over the place.

"Ah, Leo! You're here." Reiner pats me on my shoulder who is standing at the door.

"What did the instructor want?" Jean asks who has the bottle in his head. He still has my hand-print on his face. It is so red, it makes me chuckle a little as I look at him. "What?!"

"Hehe. Nothing." I snort a little and that is the end of my laugh. "Shadis told me that tomorrow, we have a special exercise."

The others look at me in confusion.

"He didn't tell me what we will be doing, though. Everything will be explained tomorrow. And also that this test will test our abilities to sustain ourselves in the absence of a crisis." The others look at each other in total silence.

"That's all?" Ymir asks me.

"No." I answer as I step further into the little house. "The 104th will be split into multiple groups. I don't know how many, but... I know who will be _my_ group mates."

"Well, who are those people?" Connie asks me.

"You..." I answer immediately and even point my finger at him. "...and also Sasha, Jean, Krista, Mina, Eren, Marco and..."

I look at Armin and a wave of nervousness goes through me again.

"...Armin." I sigh as I say it and we both look at each other. I notice him looking concerned. He probably noticed me being a bit different. And he is probably wondering about what happened earlier.

"Is that it?" Connie asks again.

"No. The last part is that Marco will be our group leader and Armin, you will be a 'record-keeper'." Armin raises an eyebrow and leans forward in his chair he's sitting in.

"W-what does that mean?" He asks.

"No idea. You just have to wait for tomorrow to find that out." I say to him and then I look at Sasha. "Sasha my dear, can you please tell this to Mina? I'm pretty sure she's in her room by now."

"Yes, of course." She smiles at me and I smile back at her, too. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking about our kiss as well. "And we should tell this to Eren and especially Marco."

"Now that you mention him, where is Marco anyway?" Reiner asks as he opens the door to leave.

"He was in the bathroom a couple of minutes ago. Could you please, check on him there when you go back to the dormitory?" Reiner only nods at me before slowly closing the door. Bert follows him as well. "Armin, do... you know where Eren is?"

Armin thinks for a second but only shakes his head. I sigh and I turn around and walk to the door.

"We should probably get some sleep. Shadis even warned me about that." I open the door but I'm stopped by Ymir clearing her throat. "What?"

I look at her and I notice that she has the bottle in her hands. Her smile worries me.

"You still have a turn to finish." She says as she looks back and forth between me and Armin. I gulp once again and my stomach flips upside down.

"I have, _no_ idea, what you're talking about." I say and I quickly walk out of the house to get back to my room.

 

_**Armin's POV** _

I watch in silence as Leo closes the door. I didn't get the answer I wanted to. I look at Ymir because she starts laughing.

"Told you." She says while still laughing. I flinch a little as I realize what that could mean.

"N-No, he... he's just... a good friend." Ymir starts laughing harder. "I'm serious. Stop laughing."

"Whatever you say, mop top. Hahaha!"

 

_**Next day - hours into the exercise - Leo's POV** _

_This is so... booooring..._

We've been riding on horses for what feels like eternity. It's really hot out here and as I look at everyone's faces, they are either bored out their minds or tired. Marco is leading the group with Armin and me beside him. Those two have been having few conversations here and there, but I haven't been paying much attention to them. They were only talking about this exercise anyway. I stare on the landscape on my left as I ride with the others. This place looks quite pretty this time of year. Take away the massive heat and you have the perfect desert heaven.

"Slow down, guys! We are entering a narrow area filled with rocks!" Marco orders us and we slow down right away. We pick up a walking pace with the horses. I envy them. They don't look like they have a problem with being out here. Unlike us. We walk for a couple of minutes in silence - at least, to me it's silence - when I'm able to make out the words Marco is speaking. "So... we are not allowed to rush?"

"R-Right." Armin answers his question which was very easy to do, considering that it was made very clear that we are definitely not allowed to rush.

"We'd also be stupid if we did." Jean says who is riding in the back. "We can take our time."

"You don't know your lower limit." Eren looks back at Jean. "Jean, if you're going to take it slow, then I'm going ahead."

"W-Wait, Eren..." Armin says as Eren starts speeding up but Marco steps in his way.

"But, the formation of our group..." He says as he holds his hand up. "What do we do, Jean?"

"Like I care!" Jean clearly doesn't care about this whole thing. It's written on his face. "Extra effort here won't get me into the Military Police."

"That's not true." Marco replies. "In any case, let's get on with the exercise."

"It's useless." Jean still decides to keep express his opinion.

"Hey, hurry up, will you?" Marco tells Jean and he has a point. Jean _is_ falling behind a bit.

"Don't you have any endurance for this?" Eren angrily asks.

"It doesn't matter if I'm complaining." Jean replies.

"It would be great if time passed faster in that case." Connie sighs.

"You got that right..." Sasha sounds tired, too. "We have a long road ahead of us."

"Hey! Quit complaining already, okay?!" I snap at them. Everyone looks at me with their own surprised expressions. "You don't hear me complaining! So shut up and keep your eyes on the road! Falling over with a horse here wouldn't be too comfortable, at all."

I manage to shut everyone who's complaining up and we ride in silence again. Only after half an hour Jean decides to say something.

"Geez... That lizard's joining us on the same route, huh..." I look at him and then at the lizard that is running between the rocks next to him.

"It's rare to see that." Marco says.

"I like lizards." I wipe the sweat away from my forehead. "They look kinda cool, don't you think?"

I look at Sasha, who is riding beside me.

"Mhmm. And they are quite delicious, you know." She says with a smile on her face.

"What?" Krista looks at her with a questioning look.

"They really are." Sasha says while still looking at the lizard. "My family and I used to eat them. They taste like chicken."

"Chicken?!" I say excitedly. My favorite meat to eat.

"Yes. You sound like you are interested." Sasha looks at me and then lowers her head a bit. "That drooling tells me exactly that."

I shake my head in confusion and I notice that I _am_ drooling. I quickly wipe away the saliva as Sasha chuckles. I smile at her.

"You can cook?" Jean asks her.

"Of course I can! Piece of cake!" Sasha replies, probably more excited than I am.

"Alright, then." Jean smirks and in the next moment, he kicks his horse with his spur and starts galloping towards the lizard.

"H-Hey!" Marco shouts as Jean gets past him.

"If hunting for food is part of the exercise, then what's better than getting that lizard?!" He shouts while looking back at us.

"Don't do that!" Krista yells after him.

"I'm going ahead." Eren says and immediately takes off after Jean.

"EREN!" I yell after him at the top of my lungs but he doesn't stop. I growl as I watch him get farther away. "He's going to stop Jean from getting that fucking lizard!"

"B-But... he shouldn't kill that lizard." Marco looks at me and I walk next to him.

"Give me a good reason why he shouldn't." I lean closer to him. "Do you know how _shit,_ the food we brought tastes? Do you have any idea?!"

He opens his mouth to say something but Armin interrupts him.

"W-We should g-go after them. T-To make sure they're okay." He says and slowly starts galloping towards the two boys. I sigh as I watch him but eventually, I follow along. We speed up the pace when we hear them argue.

"We don't even have an instructor here!" We stop when we get to them and Marco gets off his horse. "This training won't get us anywhere!"

"Stop it!" Marco shouts at them.

"You're acting like brats!" Connie joins in, even though he shouldn't.

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Jean shouts back at him and Marco walks next to Jean.

"Jean! Get a hold of yourself!" He says and I make my way closer to them and I don't see the lizard anywhere.

"That's not important right now!" Jean keeps arguing.

"If we delay, it have to be reported!" Marco says and then looks at Armin. "Please, don't record this yet, Armin!"

"G-Got it." Armin replies while holding that notebook in his hands.

"Write down: 'Jean Kirstein tries to find food during exercise, but gets interrupted by Eren Yeager.'" Jean says while looking at Armin.

"What did you say?!" Eren snaps at him.

"Guys! Where's the lizard?!" I ask when I feel my stomach growling.

"What do you think, Leo?! It got away!" Jean says as he puts away his swords. "Thanks to this stupid, angry moron!"

"Shut up, horseface!" Eren shoots back. "I'm not gonna let you kill an animal!"

Eren used the nickname I use for Jean. I don't see his face right now, but I bet he is surprised.

"H-Horse... fa... How does he know about that?!" Jean looks at me with more of an angry look than a surprised one.

"I... maaaay have told him about it. Hehe." I rub the back of my head while trying to not burst into laughing. "But, that's besides the point. Eren! You shouldn't have let that lizard get away!"

"Why?!" Eren asks. "Give me a--"

"IT'S DELICIOUS!" Suddenly, Sasha yells and that almost makes me deaf on my left ear since I'm standing right next to her. Everything becomes silent as we stare at Sasha who is giving an angry look. I stick my finger into my left ear to do something about the beeping she caused.

"Let's go." Marco says.

"O-Okay." Jean replies and he calmed down for now. He moves past Eren and they don't even look at each other. Marco gets back onto his horse and everyone starts walking again. Except Sasha. I walk back to her and she looks like she's thinking about something.

"Given its size, it could've fed all of us..." She says while holding one finger on her chin.

"Let it go, Sasha." I sigh and pat her on the shoulder. "I guess we are eating shit food tonight. Let's go. Don't want to fall behind."

I speed up a bit to catch up to the others. Sasha gets to us a couple seconds later. I look at the others and everyone has the same expression on their faces. Sasha's sudden outburst seems like had its effect. I look at Armin who looks a bit scared and keeps staring at his notebook. I walk up to him and slightly hit him with my elbow.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" I ask as I try to be as calm as I can be. He hesitantly looks at me and I notice that he could be thinking about something.

"I-I'm fine. Thank you." He says, although I'm not entirely convinced. "And you?"

"I'm holding my own." My stomach growls again. "Although, I wouldn't have minded eating that lizard, to be honest."

"R-Really?" He asks and sounds surprised.

"Yes. I mean, it tastes like chicken. How could you go wrong with that?" I rub my stomach and I feel hungrier every passing second.

"I see." Armin says quietly and I don't think I like that tone. He looks forward but I keep staring at him and I start thinking about what happened last night.

_Did I want to kiss him? No, no I didn't. I just kissed Sasha and then, I was just horny. That's all. I mean... right? S-Surely, I wouldn't--_

As I'm thinking, Armin looks at me. And the way the sun shines on his face, I notice his big blue eyes being extremely shiny. I gulp and I feel my cheeks burning.

"I-Is something wrong?" He asks and I feel a little embarrassed. I don't even know if he noticed me blushing a little. At least, I think I was blushing. But I hope I wasn't.

"N-No. No, of course not." I chuckle a little to ease the tension. "Uuuh, h-hey, Marco!"

I get away from Armin to get some space.

"Yes?" Marco looks back and it takes me a few seconds to come up with something to say.

"Where do you plan on spending the night?" I ask while looking at the sky. "Because as you can see, the night is pretty close."

"Yeah, you're right." Marco says and then there's a few seconds of silence before he speaks again. "See that forest over there?"

He points forward at a forest which is on our path.

"That would be a great sleeping place, don't you think?" I only look and nod at him.

"Then that's where we are heading." I say and I decide to get a bit more comfortable on my horse. I place my legs on its head and I lay down in my saddle. I take a single rag from my pack and block the sun with it. "Warn me if we are speeding up, okay?"

I say and out of the corner of my eyes, I see Marco rolling his eyes.

"Heh. Jealous, much?" I laugh and the others look at me, too.

"Un-believable." Mina says while holding her head.

"Thank you." I say as I put my other arm on the back of my head.

 

_**At nigh in the forest** _

It's very dark right now. Luckily we were able to build not one, but two campfires for us. It is all Sasha's doing. She is a natural hunter. That's what she calls herself anyway. We sit around the camfires to warm up and eat our food the instructors gave us. It tastes like crap, just like I imagined it to. I only take two bites before I feel like throwing it up onto the fire. I put it down next to me and take the stick that's lying on the other side of me and shake the bowl that's hanging above the fire. We are cooking some soup or something. We actually don't know what it is. Or at least, I don't.

"So this is what squad supplies taste like..." I hear Jean saying.

"I told you." I say as I lay down on my back. "Tastes like crap..."

"It would've been better if we'd caught the lizard." Sasha says and takes a bite from her food. She eats like it has a tolerable taste.

"Enough. I've heard enough about lizards." Jean complains. I crawl to the soup to take a smell. It's decent, for now.

"Weren't you hunting one just now?" Eren asks Jean as I lay down on my side. I hear Jean sigh.

"Well, we _are_ supposed to hunt titans, right?" Jean teases Eren. This will lead to another fight.

"And what do you mean by that? Why did you even join the Training Corps?!" Eren stand up and raises his voice at Jean.

_Here we go again._

"To live something better than a humble life, at the very least." Jean stands up, too and gets into Eren's face.

"What did you say?! Some things can be tolerated, and others can't!" I see Armin grabbing his notebook from the ground.

"U-Uhm..." He taps his pencil on the paper. He is confused and doesn't know what to do.

"It's fine, Armin!" Marco signals to Armin. "It's just a chat during mealtime."

"Phew! You think that when a real titan shows up the results of training hard will pay off?" Jean asks and he doesn't look like he cares about what he's saying. I don't disagree with him, though. "God jo--"

"That's enough from you!" Jean doesn't have the time to finish his sentence as he is grabbed by his shirt by Eren.

"Stop it!" Krista stands up and tries to solve the situation.

"How about we actually hunt lizards?" Sasha tries her best, but like they are going to listen to her. "You'll feel better after that."

Jean and Eren keep arguing and the more they're doing it, the angrier and more frustrated I become. We are supposed to work as a team but these just argue about everything. I look at Armin who is _still_ holding his stupid notebook. I sigh.

_I swear to God..._

I crawl over to him and violently put my hand on the notebook. He looks at me fast and scared.

"If you don't put this notebook down right now, I'm gonna throw it into the fire." I whisper to him to make sure only he hears me. He only blinks at me and I sigh at his hesitation. I grab the notebook and throw it away from him.

"H-Hey--" I shush him by putting my finger on his lips.

"Shut it." After a few seconds of us looking at each other and the two morons arguing, I had enough. Even Marco can't calm them down. It's time for me to take matters into my own hands. I stand up and walk to the both of them. Eren has his back towards me and when Jean pushes him into me, I instantly put my arms around his waist and throw him back with a suplex. He lands head first onto the ground as the others watch in shock. He lets out a painful sound and after a couple seconds of awkward silence, Jean chuckles.

"Heh! That's what you get for--" He doesn't get to finish his taunting over Eren as I put my arms around him too and throw him over my head onto Eren with a belly-to-belly overhead release suplex. I stand up and wipe away the dust from my clothing as the while the other are in complete shock, and Eren and Jean are in complete pain. I stretch my arms and back a little.

"Phew! _That..._ was something." I say and I walk back to the place where I was sitting. I look down at the food I left there.

"Wow! Leo, that was cool!" Connie cheers and I look at him with my eyebrow raised.

"Y-Yeah! Where did you learn that?" Sasha asks me as I silently grab my food off the ground. I smell it and without saying anything, I throw it into a bush, thinking that the animals might want it.

"My father." I casually say after I take a deep breath. "Let's just end it there."

I look at the two boys I put back to their places. I smile at their attempts at trying to get up.

"You're both lucky that you didn't get paralyzed. So you should thank me." They both send me an angry glare and I smirk at them even more. "We should get some sleep. It's pretty late now anyways."

I look at Marco who only gulps and nods in silence. Everyone, without saying anything, get their own individual sleeping beds and put them on the ground. We put out the fire and we decide to leave the soup as it is. We cover it with a piece of rug and after that, everyone goes to sleep.

"G-Goodnight, Leo." Mina says who is lying next to me. I roll over to look at her.

"You too, Mina." I smile and I notice her blushing and she immediately covers her face. "Goodnight, everyone!"

I say a bit too loudly as the only response I get are sighs or angry grunts. I smile to myself and I shut my eyes to sleep. I didn't have a proper dream for a very long time now, and for some reason, the wierd dream happens again. I'm standing on an open field alone. I see titans around me far away in the distance and they look terrifying. After a few seconds of silence, a mysterious figure appears in front of me. This person is wearing a green hoodie and an ODM-Gear. I can't see their face properly, the only thing that's a bit obvious is the blondish hair.

 _"Don't worry, Leo... it will be fine."_ A male's voice flies through the air. I don't know if it's the person in front of me speaking or someone else. _"I want to... see--"_

The voice struggles to say something and suddenly, the person in front of me starts burning. I hear him scream and I'm now sure that he was the one speaking. I try to run towards him but suddenly, the Armored Titan appears in front of me. He swings his huge arm at me and I instantly wake up in a cold sweat. I try to catch my breath and I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack. I unzip my sleeping bag and sit up. I shake my head and rub my eyes.

_What...? What the hell was that all about?_

I sigh and grab the bottle I put next to me just in case I need it and drink half of the water it has in it. I look around as I wipe away a few drops of water from my mouth and I notice that one of us is not in their sleeping bag. I look around again to see if I can find them. I don't see anyone, although I do hear something moving in the bushes. But it turns out to be just a squirrel. I stand up and stretch myself. I check everyone to see who's missing. After a few seconds, I find out that Krista is the one missing.

_Huh? Krista? Where are you?_

I check around to see if I can find out where she went. I notice some footprints on the ground that lead to the lake which is only a few meters away. I look over there and I see a white horse standing there with Krista next to it. I frown in confusion and I decide to go over there and talk to her. As I walk, I accidentally step on a twig which was lying on the ground. I hiss as I hope it doesn't wake anybody up. I look at the others and luckily, they all stay quiet. I walk by Armin and for some reason, I stop to look at him. I gulp as I examine him. He's sleeping like a rock. As he should be. This day was exhausting. But still, I can't get last night's incident out of my head. Throughout the whole day, in the back of my head, I was thinking about it. And the result is always the same: I have no idea what's going on. I kneel down next to him and I pull the zipper on his bag up a little bit. And while I do that, I'm looking at his face. Before I know, my eyes land on his lips. They remind me of last night even more. His lips might've met mine if it wasn't for Mikasa. Or not, I don't know. I gulp and suddenly, a strange thought gets into my head.

_Well, he is... somewhat cute-- W-Wait, what?!?!_

I shake my head and even punch it lightly.

_No! I didn't just think that. Goddammit, I'm so fucking confused. What is happening?_

I drink the remaining water from my bottle and I decide it would be better if I go to Krista. I slowly walk up to her and I manage to step on another twig. She flinches and quickly looks at me. She calms down when she notices that it's me. I curse under my breath as I walk up to her.

"Hey." I say, quietly.

"Hey." She says after a few seconds. "What are you doing up so late?"

"You know, I could ask the same question from you." I sit down next to her while looking at her. She looks at me too and I just raise my eyebrows. "So?"

"Y-You see, I... couldn't sleep. So I decided to rest here by the water." She grabs a little rock and throws it in the water. "You?"

"Bad dream." I pick up a rock too and I make it bounce on the water two times before it sinks.

"Really? May I ask, what was it about?" I'm about to throw another rock when I suddenly get some flashbacks of my dream. I feel my heart pounding in my throat and my stomach is turned upside down. I look at her while sighing without saying a word. She keeps looking at me and looks a bit worried.

"I uh... rather not talk about it." I finally say and this time, the rock doesn't even bounce once. All I can think about is that the images of the person burning alive in front of me and the Armored Titan will stay in my head for a long time.

"I see." Krista says quietly and she picks up another rock. "How do you make it bounce?"

She throws it and it just sinks without any problem. I smile at her next three more attempts at trying to make the rock bounce on the top of the water.

"Please, quit laughing and help me!" She says a bit too loud and I put my hand on her mouth.

"Keep it down, Krista. We aren't the only ones here." I point into the direction of our friends with my thumb and she just grabs my hand and pushes it away.

"Okay. Sorry. But still..." She grabs another rock and puts it into my hand. "Show me."

I crack half a smile and I take a look at the rock she gave me. I simply let go of it. She looks surprised which doesn't really surprise me.

"Okay. It takes only four steps. Step one: Find a _flat_ rock." I say and I start looking for one. I see Krista giving me an even more confused look.

"Why a flat one?" She asks while looking at the ground and the rocks under her feet.

"Because... ah." I finally found the rock I need. "When the flat side of the rock touches the water - and it's been thrown properly - it bounces. It's basic physics."

I look at Krista who's just gaping at me.

"I think." I hesitantly say and playfully throw the rock up and catch it. "Step two: Position yourself properly."

I slightly bend my knees. I look at Krista to make sure she is still paying attention to me.

"Why are you standing like that?" She asks me, in her own cute way.

"It makes it a bit easier, since you want to throw it _forward,_ rather than up." I do a few fake throws before I put the rock closer to her. "And hold it like this. Now that I think about it... why aren't you doing it with me?"

She flinches in surprise a little and I start looking for the needed rock.

"I-I... don't know, actually. That is a really good point." She smiles and stands up, and I feel a bit uneasy. Her smile is very contagious. We search for a couple of seconds before she finds a good enough, small rock.

"Okay, so do it like me." I bend my knees and she follows my lead. "Now, you want to make sure that the flat side touches the water, so you want to throw it, like this. And this is step three."

I wait for a few seconds while looking at Krista who looks a bit unsure of herself. I finally throw the rock and I manage to make it bounce two times before it sinks. I straighten up and wait for her to do it.

"C'mon, pretty one." I tease. "You got this."

She doesn't say anything but I notice her blushing a little. I guess she liked my compliment. She waits for a few seconds before throwing the rock away. And much to my surprise, it bounces off the water. Only once, but it still bounces. She gaps in amusement and looks at me. She looks genuinely.

"I did it." She says as I slightly chuckle.

"Yes, you did." I pat her on the shoulder. "Not a bad start."

"But wait. What is step four?" She asks and first, I don't really get what she is asking, but after a few seconds, I do.

"Step four? Smile at your success." I say while keeping a straight face. Only after a few seconds of silence, I quickly crack a wide smile, which makes her laugh.

"O-okay, hehehehehe. Okay." We both laugh but we suddenly get interrupted by another twig breaking. We look at the right where the noise came from. "W-What... what was that?"

"Probably another squirrel." I say to calm her down, but even I don't believe that.

"I don't know, Leo. When the boys where arguing, I did see a big shadow pass by the tree." She says while slightly holding me from behind.

"How big was it?" I ask while I take her hand.

"I don't know. Like... bear sized?" She says and I squint at her.

"Bear?" I ask, completely dumbfounded.

"Y-Yes." She immediately says. "And you know how dangerous those animals are, right?"

"Well, I do know that they are quite un- _bearable._ " I try to hold myself back from bursting into a huge laughter after making that pun.

"R-Really?! Did you seriously say that?!" Krista is mad at me. And that doesn't surprise me one bit.

"Relax. It's probably just--" I turn around and I see a man wearing a red piece of clothing moving a long object in his hand towards me. He hits me with it and the only thing I hear befoe I pass out is Krista calling out my name and her scream. I get woken up by some cold water on my face. When I open my eyes, I see Mina holding me. She becomes happy when she sees me opening my eyes.

"Hey, guys! He's awake!" She turns to the others and then back at me. I hold the side of my head where I got hit. It really hurts. "Y-You okay?"

I only nod without saying anything and then the others come to us. I get out of Mina's hands and I tell her that I'm fine.

"How you feeling?" Connie asks me while handing me a bottle of water. I thank him as I take it away.

"Not bad, to be completely honest. I'll make it through." I drink every water that is in the bottle and give it back to Connie. "What happened?"

"A group of bandits sneaked up on us." Sasha says.

"They took our supplies and Krista with them." Jean says and that makes me look at him in fury and anger.

"What?!" I ask and I try to get up fast but I fall back down. Mina tries to grab me but I'm too heavy for her. "Shit..."

"Y-You... shouldn't do sudden movements. Take it slow." She warns me and I feel a strange dose of anger which I haven't felt in a while. I clench my fist and I stand up, this time taking it a bit slower. I hold up my hand towards Mina to show her that I'm fine.

"So... what's the plan?" I ask before I take a look at Jean and notice a scar on his face. "What's that all about?"

He looks slightly down and puts his hand on the wound.

"I got shot..." He says quietly. Everyone stays quiet and I raise my eyebrow at Jean.

"Tried to be a hero or something?" I ask and he tries to say something but I wave him off. I know him too well. That probably wasn't the case. "Don't-- Don't say anything. It doesn't matter."

I look at Marco who's handing Jean a rag to clean the wound. Jean hesitantly takes it.

"I ask again. What's the plan?" Marco looks at me confused. He's even sweating a little.

"We are going after the bandits." Eren steps forward. I notice that he has a bruise on his face, too. "Care to join us?"

"I-It's fine if you don't want to." Mina says while placing her hand on my shoulder. "With your condition--"

"Stop." I cut her off and remove her hand from my shoulder. "One of those bastards deserves some payback. And besides, I'm not leaving Krista behind. Who knows what they will do to her if they get away."

We stare at each other for a couple of seconds before Eren sighs.

"Then everyone agrees. Good." He says and he starts walking forward. "We better hurry."

"But wait!" Connie grabs him. "How are we gonna find those guys?"

"Yeah. We might not make it even if we split up." Mina says and I notice Sasha widening her eyes.

"In that case," She says and we all look at her. "we'll just climb to a higher place!"

She sounds exited and holds one finger up. Jean and I look at each other and I look back at Sasha.

"Good idea." Armin says. "In that way, we could maybe see where they are."

"That mountain right there should do the trick." Marco says and points at the direction of the mountain. It's not far from our current position.

"Alright." I pat Sasha on the shoulders. "After you."  
She stares at me for a couple of seconds but eventually nods and we start walking towards the mountain. It takes us fifteen minutes to get to the mountain and another five to get up to a good enough vantage point. It wasn't difficult to get up here, although Armin is very tired. He leans on his knees and Eren is there to comfort him. Mina hands him some drink and I pat him on the back.

"You're doing good, Armin." I say and I kneel down next to him. "Just rest, okay?"

"T-Th-Thanks..." He says as he takes the drink from Mina. I smile at him and Eren and I make eye contact. He looks at me in a strange way and I shrug at him.

"There!" Jean yells and he points at a line of smoke he noticed. I stand up to survey the valley in front of us.

"If we take this route, we can get there in approximately... five or six minutes." I wait a couple of seconds before saying more. Armin and I look at each other and I take a deep breath. "If we hurry."

Armin rolls his eyes as he tilts his head down and he starts taking long, deep breaths.

"I can carry you if you want." I ask without any hesitation and I surprise even myself with that.

_Where did that come from?_

The others are staring at me in silence and I swear that I see Connie smirking under his hand.

"N-No, you don't... have to." Armin says as he straightens up. "I'll manage..."

"Okay." I say after a short silence. "Well, then. Let's go."

I move forward and I gambol down on the side of the mountain. We walk for actually seven minutes before we are able to see the camp of the thieves. We go prone as we examine the camp.

"What do we do?" Eren asks as he hands the telescope to Jean he was looking at the camp with.

"We'll be too late at this rate." Jean says as he looks through the telescope. "Any ideas, Leo?"

I keep looking at the camp and I signal Jean to hand me the telescope. He gives it to me and I take a closer look at the camp.

"Well, they don't look like they are ready to leave yet." I say. I look around and I see them lead Krista into one of the carriages. I keep looking until I find the man who knocked me out. I feel my body heat up from anger immediately. "Son of a bitch..."

"What? What do you see?" Marco asks me.

"The fucker who knocked me out. I wouldn't forget a dumb vest like that." I say as I close the telescope. "But... still no plan here."

I sigh and I look at Marco.

"Have something?" I ask him.

"I-I don't know." He scratches the back of his head. "They have rifles on them. We're gonna get shot."

"I have and idea." Armin walks up to us. The four of us look at him in surprise.

"You do?" Jean asks.

"Yes. Come down here and I tell you." He starts walking back to the others and Jean and I look at each other.

"Looks like he is smarter." I say and I smile after that.

"Tch. Are you surprised?" He says before he stands up and joins to the others.

"Not really..." I say quietly to myself and I stand up too and walk to next to Armin. "Okay. But you better make it quick. I don't know when they are going to start moving."

Armin nods at me with a map in his hands.

"They're probably going to sell the stolen goods. If that's the case, they'll probably find a wide exit around this area. We'll ambush them before they get there." Connie takes the map from Armin.

"It'll be hard since we have no horses." He says as he looks up from the map.

"It's possible, if there's a wide exit." Sasha says and we look at her. "If we leave the forest."

I look at the map and I take it from Connie. After a few seconds, I notice that the path that leads out of this area spreads into two seperate ones. The wide exit and a narrow path.

"Hey, look at this here." I show the map to everyone and I point my finger at the junction. "If we block the exit, they have to take the other path. That's where we will have a chance against them."

"Yeah, that was what I was about to say." Armin says. I keep looking back and forth at the others, trying to think of a plan.

"So, what now?" Jean asks.

"We have to block the path somehow. That's the number one priority." I say as I fold the map.

"But how are we gonna do that?" Connie asks and I see Sasha do a wide smile.

"We pull a tree down." She says and we all just stare at her.

"How?!" Connie asks again.

"With a rope. Don't worry, I can handle that part." She says as she pridefully crosses her arms.

"Well, then..." Eren sighs. "But, what happens after we get Krista?"

"We can't get here first." I say as I check our stuff for something useful.

"What do you mean?" He asks me.

"Just think about it. If we get our gear first, there's a higher chance of getting Krista back than the other way around. And there are two carriages." I keep looking through our stuff, but I still haven't found anything useful.

"But, then how are we supposed to tell which one has Krista or the gear?" Eren lightly slaps me in the shoulder and I send him a slightly annoyed glare.

"If we hear a rattling sound, we'll be able to tell." Marco says.

"But... how are we going to get on the carriages?" Jean asks. "Before we even have the time to react after we heard the sound, they will get away. We aren't on horseback."

"Then that means..." Armin says. "... that we have to split up into three groups. The first group blocks the exit, the second one signals to the third one that is going to jump onto the carts and retrieve the gears."

"Exactly." I say as I hold up a can. "And with this, you will be able to signal us."

I walk to Marco and he looks at me a bit confused.

"M-Me?" He hesitantly asks.

"Yes. Since Sasha said she will handle the blocking, and the strongest people - meaning Jean, Eren and me - will get on the carriages, that means you, along with Armin, will signal us." I take Marco's hand and put the can into it. "We tie this up with it's top and bottom separated and we are golden."

 

** _After the preparation_ **

We are done. Now it's up to the others to make sure they don't screw up. Eren, Jean and I are in position on a tree and waiting for the signal. We keep looking at the can since the signal can happen at any monent. Marco said that if he pulls once, the equipment is in the front carriage; if twice, the rear one; if thrice, it's both.

"You think this is going to work?" Jean quietly asks and I lightly smack him in the arm.

"It has to work. If it doesn't, then we lose Krista _and_ our gear." I say.

"Ssssh!" Eren shushes me and I look at him, shrugging and not understanding why he did that. "I can hear them coming."

He says and after a short silence, I'm able to hear the carts, too.

_Alright. So Sasha and the others were successful._

We look at the can and we wait for Marco and Armin to do their part. Suddenly, it moves.

"One..." Jean says and we wait for another one which happens after two seconds.

"Two..." Eren says and we wait again for the third one, but that doesn't happen. We know what that means.

"The second one." I say as I put my attention on the target carriage. The front one passes us and then we nod at each other and jump onto the carriage. We rip the roof of it open and we see the driver and two others in there.

"Who the hell are you?!" One of them yells.

"Missed us?!" I say as I dodge a punch from the person in front of me and I make my way to the driver. "The driver's mine!"

I quickly grab him from behind and I put him into a choke hold. I hear one of the men screaming and his voice is fading away. I guess he fell out.

"You!" The other one yells but he gets beaten down and thrown out by Eren. I struggle with the driver but I manage to get the upper hand.

"Hey! You know that people need the ODM-Gear to fly, right?" I ask him as I lean to the right with him. "Well, let's see if you're the chosen one, who doesn't need it!"

I laugh as I throw him off the cart. He screams as he crashes down hard on the ground.

"HAHAHA! I GUESS NOT!" I yell after him as I hold on the side of the cart. Suddenly, the cart jumps up from something and I fly upwards. I land on my back and I'm just barely able to grab onto something. I'm hanging from the side of the cart and it's wheel is missing me by a hair.

"That brat!" A man from the other cart yells and he points his rifle at me. I try to pull myself up, but the cart is moving on a bumpy road so it's very difficult.

"Leo!" Eren yells as he runs up to me.

"Pull me up! Pull me up!" I yell out of total fear as I watch the wheel spinning in front of my face. Eren grabs me and I look at the man holding his rifle and I become even more scared. He is about to shoot. "Faster!"

Eren grabs me and pulls me up just before the man pulls the trigger. He fires and the bullet flies into the wheel, breaking it.

"O-Oh!" I say as I land on Eren, slightly headbutting him in the process.

"Hold on!" Jean warns us as the cart spinning out of control and it hits a tree. I fly into the side of the cart and I land hard on the equipment. I hold my back as I gain conciousness again. It hurts really bad. "Are you guys all right?"

"Yeah, somehow..." Eren sighs as he stands up.

"Still alive..." I struggle to breathe as I get on my knees.

"Jean! Eren! Leo!" Marco shouts as he arrives with the others.

"We're all right!" Jean says. "And so is the ODM-Gear."

"But Krista is still..." Eren says and Marco straightens up.

"After them!" He yells and I stand up with my gear on already.

"Way ahead of you!" I say as I walk out of the wreck. The others first just stare at me but after a couple of seconds, they gather their gears as well. "Alright! Let's go!"

I shoot my lines and I launch myself. Eren and Jean closely follow me.

"Okay. How are we stopping them?" Eren asks.

"Yeah. We kinda didn't go through this part of the plan." Jean says and I realize that they are both right.

"We improvise." I say and I get the carriage in my sight. We speed up and we see the man holding his rifle at Krista.

"Wait! He's going to--"

"Don't worry, I got it!" I interrupt Eren and I shoot my line at the rifle. It connects and the rifle goes flying out of the man's hands. He looks at us and I see him become angry. I smirk as I maneuver to the side.

"Spread out!" I say as I see the man grabbing back his rifle. "It will confuse him!"

"Okay!" The two boys shout and everyone goes on a different path. Jean takes the right side, Eren takes the left and I stay in the middle. I flip myself upwards into the air and I just barely avoid a bullet. I come back down and the man fires again, this time, I just move my head away. I barrel roll to the right and I get closer and closer to the cart, but the man focuses on Jean this time. He's too late though as Jean and Eren make their way to the front and they cut the horse loose. It runs away and after a few meters, the carriage falls over on it's side and slides into a tree, which even breaks in half. We arrive at the crash site and all of us regroup. We walk to the carriage and I see Krista walking towards us.

"Krista!" I shout in joy but then suddenly, she is grabbed from behind and the man puts his sword on her throat. His partner appears as well with a rifle.

"Stay back!"

"Throw away your weapons!" I'm standing in silence and I don't know what to do. One thing is for sure: I'm not letting them take Krista away. "Do as I say, and hand over the ODM-Gear!"

"Hurry up!" I keep staring at them without moving a muscle. I have to come up with something. It doesn't help that I hear the others behind me removing their gears. I look at the man who's holding the rifle and I remember back how I knocked it out of his hands.

_I could do it again, but then I have to consider that the other guy might kill Krista right away. So, I have to fire at the same time with both lines._

I slowly move both my hands back to my sides and I try to aim at both of them.

"What are you waiting for?! Hurry up!" The man steps closer and I'm about to shoot when suddenly, two people appear from above. One of them disarms the man holding the rifle and the other frees Krista. It's Mikasa and Annie.

"Mikasa?" Eren asks before Mikasa quickly turns around and puts her blade on the man's throat.

"Don't kill him!" Krista yells in fear. Silence descends as we just glare at what's happening.

"I see." Mikasa says as she loosens herself and removes the blade from the man's throat. Annie does the same.

"Looks like you went through a lot of trouble." She says. The two man drop to their knees and I sigh in relief.

"Nice one, Armin." Sasha says and I turn around in confusion to see her lightly elbowing Armin. He just stares at Eren as he scratches his cheek with his finger.

"Hey, guys!" I hear a familiar voice. I turn to the right and I see Thomas on his horse arriving with the others.

"Heheeeey, Thomas!" I say joyfully. "I've never thought that I would be this happy to see your ugly face!"

"Wow, man!" Thomas says as he dismounts his horse. "That was rude."

"How did you--"

"Armin shot a signal flare!" Sasha cuts Mina off. I look at Armin and I walk up to him to pat him on the shoulder.

"Nice thinking." I say and Armin tilts his head down slightly.

"T-Thanks." He says. I turn around to look at the two man still kneeling down. I start walking towards them, angry and hungry for more payback.

"L-Leo...?" Krista asks and she sounds scared.

"Hey, fucker." I say to the man who knocked me out. I start running and I viciously knee him in the face.

"Leo! What are you--" Mikasa tries to stop me but I hold my hand up.

"That was for knocking me out." I say and I punch him in the face. "That's for stealing our gear."

I mount him and punch him five more times.

"And that's for taking Krista away." I whisper into his ear and I walk up to Krista. I take one of my blades and while doing that, I notice that my knuckle is bleeding. "Shit..."

I cut the rope on Krista's hands.

"Are... you okay?" She asks me.

"Heh. Get me something I can wrap my hand with and I'll be fine." I answer. "How are you?"

I ask her but she just nods and gives me a simple 'okay'. I decide not to push her any further.

"So, what now?" Connie asks and makes a valid point.

"Well, you know..." I begin. "These guys deserve to go to jail. So we have to send someone back to the base and tell them what happened. And to bring horses for us."

"Bertl and I can handle that." Reiner says.

"Be my guest." I say as I take a rag from Mina. "Thanks."

I take another good look at the two guys. The one I beat up is slowly standing up but Mikasa pushes him down.

"It looks like we are going to spend some time here, until my friends get back." I say while sending them a terrifying glare.

 

** _One day later in a watchtower_ **

I lean back in my chair and Eren is leaning on the railing of the tower. We arrived a couple of hours ago from our little adventure. Armin has gone to Shadis to submit our records of the incident and the others just went ahead to do their own thing. Eren and I rest in silence when Marco finally comes back and he's carrying a tray with three glasses on it. He puts it down next to me on a box and I see that the glasses have coffee in them.

"I brought some coffee." He says as he hands one to me.

"Thanks." I hesitantly take it. "But, next time, bring tea."

I say as I take a sip from it. It's quite hot.

"O-Okay." He says and he gives a glass to Eren as well. "You know, I shouldn't have accepted the group leader position."

"Really?" Eren asks as he takes the glass from Marco. "I seemed to met that it fit you."

"Nah, I'm not suited to be a leader. Jean's more suited for the job." Marco says and I look at him with my eyebrow raised.

"Jean?! Leave me out, then." Eren says as he drinks from his coffee. Marco just chuckles.

"You'll understand someday." Marco says.

"I wonder about that..." Eren replies and leans on the railing. "I would rather have Leo, then."

That statement makes me spit out my coffee.

"What...?!" I cough as I try not to choke to death. "Are you mad?!"

"No. I'm dead serious." Eren says and I stop coughing.

"He has a point." Marco turns around. "You did handle the situation pretty well."

"No!" I snap back. "I am definitely not a leader! Let's leave it there!"

"But--"

"No!" I cut Marco off. I get into a more comfortable position in my chair and I'm trying to forget the things they said.

"Do you know what I wonder about?" Marco asks after a short silence. "I wonder about what kind of soldiers everyone will become."

He says and the wind starts to pick up a bit. And as I lean back more in my chair, I suddenly realize something.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask them.

"Sure. What is it?" Marco says and I'm trying to find the best way to say this.

"Isn't it strange that we are soldiers, trained to fight titans, but... our first battle... was against humans?" I stare up at the ceiling of the watchtower as I ask that. It's a question that I never thought about up until now. Marco tries to say something but he can't say anything.

"Strange, isn't the word I would use." Eren says and I lean forward in my chair.

"What would you use, then?" I ask and Eren drinks from his coffee before answering.

"Wrong."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 12 preview: Another year passes. The 104th is sent to Trost to get trained for the expected titan attack. But, when a cook-off is on the horizon between Jean and Sasha, a familiar face decides to show up.
> 
> Chapter 12: Coming Back To Trost


	12. Coming Back To Trost

The river, the familiar trees, the unexplained awful smell of the windmill. They all remind me of one thing.

_Home... sweet home._

I take one good sniff out of the air as we walk towards Trost. After two years of hard and painful training, I am finally coming home. Back to Trost. Back to the place I was born at. The military expects Trost to be the next target for the titans and they are sending _us_ in to get prepared for the attack. In this exercise, we are going to act like it's a real attack. The civilians will be evacuating, titan dummies will be set up for us to cut and we will be supervised by the Commander of the Garrison himself: Dot Pixis. Of course, while we are walking, the officers who are leading us back to Trost are all on horsebacks. To this day, I'm still angry at them for feeling that comfortable. My legs are starting to hurt, too. It doesn't help that I have a muscle strain in my legs after yesterday's training. I decided to test my limit in running and as it turns out, it wasn't a good idea. I ran for fifteen minutes at the same pace, then I accelerated and then after five minutes, I started to get exhausted. And now, the aftermath of the running is finally showing. 

_I hope that my house is still intact. But... I bet that it's filled with dust and all kinds of bugs. Dammit._

As I'm lost in my thoughts, I notice the sun disappearing. And that's because we arrived to the wall. 

"Stop!" Keith orders and we follow. I look up at the top of the wall. 

"It's been a long time, Rose." I say and I chuckle a little. I just talked to the wall. How ridiculous. I try to stop my quiet laughter by putting my fist on my mouth but it barely helps.

"What... are you laughing at?" Marco walks up to me and puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing." I say while still trying to keep a straight face. Marco looks at me confused and I just wave him off. The gate suddenly starts rising and I take a deep breath and now I'm finally done laughing. I look at Marco who's facing forward. After a few moments, he looks at me, too.

"What?" He asks while raising his eyebrow.

"Nothing. Just... I'm with you and Bertholdt in a group, right?" I ask as Keith orders us to get moving. 

"Yes, that's correct. Where is he actually?" Marco asks and takes a look behind us. "I don't see him."

"Do you see Reiner?" I ask as I turn around.

"No. Why? He is not with us." Marco says and I just shrug.

"You know, wherever he is, there's a big chance of Bertholdt being there. Get it now?" I say and I notice that Jean and Armin are behind us. "Hey, Jean. You're so quiet. Aren't you excited to be back home?"

The look Jean sends me is the exact reaction I wanted. He pretends to be not fazed by my question, but I know him too well. He can't hide anything from me. But, I decide to not push him any further. This is actually his second time coming back here. The first time was a few months ago when it was a reward for that day's best in ODM training. Of course, I told the others to not give a hundred percent because I wanted Jean to get home to his parents. He didn't leave them on the best terms and as it turned out later, nothing's changed at all after Jean's visit. 

After a few minutes, we catch up to Sasha and Connie who both are having their first time in a walled city.

"This is awesome! This is the first time I've been in one of the walled cities." Connie says while I look at my right and I see a group of people staring at a poster on the wall. I can't see what's on it, though.

"There'll be lots of tasty food to eat!" Sasha says and she is very excited. But then again, she wouldn't be Sasha if she wasn't excited over eating food.

"Hey, you lot!" Jean says and they both look at him." If you join the Garrison, you can stay here as long as you like. I'll come and visit to see how you're doing when I'm in the Military Police." Jean then starts laughing. I raise my eyebrow at his sudden behavior.

"Hey... Where exactly is your house, Jean?" Armin asks and I already know that this is not going to end well.

"Does it matter?" Jean asks and his sudden mood change just confirms my suspicion.

"Aren't you going to pop home?" Marco asks and I try to signal him with my hands to stop talking but he doesn't notice it. "Thomas said he was planning to."

"Your mom will be happy to see you."

"Armin--"

"Shut it, you two!" I try to warn Armin but then Jean finally snaps. "Just drop it!"

Armin then tries to say something but then decides not to. I look back at him and I just shake my head.

"Aah, Jean... you never change." I say, mostly to myself, rather than to Jean. 

"What'd you say?" Jean asks me and by his voice, I can tell that he is upset.

"Nothing." I lightly laugh as I answer him and we continue to keep walking towards the supply depot. It's conveniently built in the middle of the city, so it's gonna take us a long time to get there on foot. It would be so much easier on ODM's.

"And what about you, Leo?" Marco decides to break the silence between us. "Where is your house?"

I scratch the back of my head before I take a quick look around to see where we are.

"That way." I point towards the south-east side of the city. "You just walk to the far end of the city into that corner, and there you are. At my fucking house." I tilt my head down to look at the ground. "Probably looks like shit, beause no one set foot in it for two years." 

I hear Connie chuckle at the front and I raise an eyebrow.

"Then..." He sniffs as he's still laughing. "It doesn't look much different than how you left it, ey?"

He looks back at me with the stupidest grin I have ever seen on his face. In the fraction of a second, he managed to make me angry. I let out a growl between my teeth and I go around Jean to sneak up on Connie. I get behind him and I slap him on his nape.

"Ow!"

"So, you think you can just pull a joke like that on me and get away with it, huh, cueball?" Connie puts his hand on his nape and I just smile at the painful sound he is making.

"Tch. You are acting like children. Like always." Jean says and that was just enough for me to snap a little. I stop and turn around to look at him.

"Now _listen_ here!  _I_ act how  _I_ want, and  _you_ leave me alone!" My outburst causes a lot of people to look at us. "I get why you are angry. But it doesn't mean that you have to be a dick to everyone! If you don't stop acting like an asshole, I'm gonna introduce you to a good friend of mine. My right fucking fist!"

I hold my fist against his face and he gapes at me. I hear a few whisperings from the people around us but I ignore them. I put down my hands, sigh and without any words, I start walking again. I don't even wait for the others to follow me.

 

_**20 minutes later on the rooftops** _

The exercise is about to be underway. Our task: deal with the titans that made it through the front lines. I'm in the 13th squad with Bertholdt and Marco. We are all waiting for the bells to ring. When that happens, the civilians will start to evacuate and we have to slice down the 'titans'. I look around to see if I can find anyone familiar. I see Armin and his group, and I notice Sasha and her group further down. I don't see the others, though.

"So, how... are we going to do this?" Marco asks, a bit worried.

"What do you mean?" I ask as I keep staring at the top of the bell tower.

"Y-You know. Are we going to take it slow, or fast?" He asks and I can see where he is coming from.

"We don't have to rush, right?" Bertholdt asks and I look at him.

"You're right. We don't." I say and then I look at Marco. "We are going to maintain an ideal speed. Not too fast, not too slow. You two, just follow my lead, and it should be okay for all of us." I spin the sword in my hand and then I scratch the area behind my ear with the lower part of my hand as I'm still holding the sword. "Just make sure to keep up."

We wait for a few seconds and from now on, I stare at nothing but the bell tower. We can finally prove ourselves here. This is an excellent opportunity to get some extra points. That's why I told my squad mates to just follow my lead. I have the speed advantage and I will be the first to notice the targets. It is a bit selfish, but I don't care. They can get the ones I don't notice. Or maybe I will actually let them take some. A couple more moments later, the bell finally rings and everyone starts running on the rooftops. A lot of people are shouting and screaming, but all I care about is to get this done properly. I jump off the roof and I shoot my lines at the two houses in front of me. I slingshot my way through the narrow streets of Trost and it's a bit scary to move around buildings instead of trees.

"There's three!" I shout and I immediately go for the nape. I cut the first one easily, I spiral in the air before cutting the second one, but I don't have time to get the third one as my maneuvering gives Bertholdt the time to reach it before me.

"Clear!" Marco says as he cuts a fourth one I didn't notice. I slow down a bit to think.

_Alright. No need to worry. But damn! How did I not see that fourth one? Arhg... It doesn't matter. Just... let's get through--_

"Another one!" Marco yells and Bertholdt passes me and cuts it. I growl a little at myself. My worrying caused me to slow down. I can't let that happen. That's why I quickly pass back Bertholdt and I speed up a bit. I see the other cadets around us getting the targets. I notice a lonely target all by itself. I smile as I realize what this could mean.

"Hey! Guys!" I say and I look back at the two boys. "Leave this one to me! I want to try something!"

They both look at me confused.

"What are you trying to do?!" Marco asks.

"You'll see!" I answer and I speed up even more. I have been practicing this move for a long time, but I've never managed to do it properly. But now, I have a lot more confidence.

_C'mon! Let's not fuck up!_

I shoot my left line at the head of my target. I barely graze the floor as I make my way under it. I shoot my other line at the head, too as I get completely under it. With enough gas, I launch myself upwards, barely missing the head. I retrieve my lines and I turn around in the air to get myself into position. I shoot both lines at the same time into the nape, lean back with both my swords lift up and, with everything I got, I start spinning forward. When I'm about to make a full flip, I have to get the lines back, If I don't want this move to end horribly for me. I spin but I don't hit the nape. Instead, I miss completely. 

_DAMMIT!_

I attach a hook on the nearest building and land on it's top. As I stand up, I see Marco cutting the nape. I wipe my forehead and curse myself for not being able to do this move. Betholdt lands next to me, and Marco follows.

"What was that?" Bertholdt asks me and he sounds a bit confused.

"Yeah. that looked pretty strange." Marco adds, and he sounds a bit more concerned.

"Don't worry about it." I say as I wave him off. "It's just... something I've been practicing for a while. Argh, I can't get the hang of it!" I bounce up and down as I'm looking towards our next set of targets. "Alright. Let's finish this. We are moving quite fast."

I take the lead again and this time, I don't go for any special, unique cuts. Only simple, deep cuts that everyone does. I failed hard in front of my friends and I'm pretty sure that someone from the instructors saw my failure. After we are done, I managed to cut down ten more and I let Bertholdt take five and Marco took three. I'm angry at myself. Very angry. I've been practicing this move for so long and I fail it in the most important exercise yet?

 

_**Ten minutes later** _

We are finally sent away for today. We can do whatever we want. Well, except for the 13th squad, of course. We have to help the officers carry some boxes and put them into piles or whatever. I actually don't know. I wasn't really paying attention. I'm on a little walk right now and I'm trying to find Marco and Bertholdt. I don't know how, but somehow we got separated. I walk for a few minutes through a narrow lane and I notice Armin and Annie on the left talking and I walk past Reiner, too.

"Hey, man." I say to him as I hold out my hand for a low five.

"Waddup?" He says and he takes the low five. "Did you manage to take out as many targets as possible?"

"Well... technically yes." I say as I scratch the back of my head. "I mean--"

"That was playing dirty, you thieving bastards!" I get interrupted by Jean's loud yelling. I look over at him and I notice that he is talking to Sasha and Connie. They are sitting at the wall and eating potatoes. Of course they are potatoes. What else could they have been? "I spotted them first!"

"Playing dirty?" Sasha asks with a smug grin on her face. In the meantime, I make my way to Annie and Armin.

"Hey." I quietly greet them. Annie just gives me a bland stare and Armin looks a bit worried.

"Jean, you sure come up with some baloney. You think there's an etiquette when it comes to hunting?" Sasha continues before taking a bite out of her potato.

"Don't lay some hunter logic on me, Potato Girl." Jean uses the nickname Sasha got after that little potato incident with Keith two years ago.

"Potato girl?! I though everyone had forgotten about that..." She says and I chuckle a little as I find it hard to believe that she actually thought people would forget that. "Don't call me names!"

"Yeah! Apologize to her!" Connie stands up to defend Sasha.

"For starters, that whole area was in our zone." Reiner steps closer to them. I raise my eyebrow as I look at Annie and Armin.

"You invaded their zone?" I ask and Armin flinches a little.

"Well, J-Jean wanted us to go there." He says and Annie scoffs as the others are still arguing.

"You know, Leo was right. You are acting kinda weird today, shouting out of the blue like that. Are you itching to see your mommy?" Connie teases and I cringe a little. He just touched a nerve right there.

"Is that it?" Sasha asks and Jean clenches his fist.

"As if!" He shouts and lifts his fist up. Sasha and Connie are ready, however, as they do their stupid stance. Connie even put a knife in his mouth. And I just shake my head at the pathetic sight. Armin tries to step in but I stop him.

"Stop it, you two!" Reiner walks up to them. "You too, Jean. You won't make it to the Military Police like this."

Jean scoffs as he lowers his arms.

"When we finish up our training tomorrow, we'll see who can take out more targets." Jean says and I just facepalm at the situation.

_This can't be any worse._

"Interesting!" A man voice is heard from a distance. I look to my right where the noise came from and I see the cadets stepping aside and saluting. No wonder, since the man who yelled was none other than Dot Pixis, the Commander of the Garrison. As soon as he sees him, Jean salutes. I look at Annie who looks completely unfazed by the Commander's appearance. She slowly salutes and I follow everyone as well. I try to stay out of sight though but it's very difficult, given the fact that I'm very tall. And the two people who are next to me are Annie and Armin. Both of them are way smaller than me.

"Commander Pixis." Jean says as Pixis stops in front of him. He has a red strip on his coat and his face is at bit red, too. He looks like he had a few sips of alcohol. 

"I'll adjudicate." He says and I'm already worried about where this is going. "Your fighting spirit is certainly commendable. However, using a training exercise to win an argument is unacceptable." I cringe a little as I remember that I do that quite a lot. But this isn't about me, so that is irrelevant. Meanwhile, I notice Bertholdt appear behind Pixis. Pixis then takes out a flask from his pocket and drinks from it, confirming the obvious fact that he is far from being sober. "Fight by cooking."

_What?_

We stand in confusion, wondering if the Commander is serious or not.

"Pardon?" Jean asks in the most polite way possible.

"Fight by cooking!" Pixis raises his voice and Jean is very confused, and so am I. 

"Cooking?!" But Sasha isn't. She really likes this. Her eyes are just gleaming uncontrollably.

 "That's right. Cooking." Pixis confirms. "A cook-off!"

I almost fall over after hearing that. Dot Pixis, the Commander of the Garrison, one of the greatest minds in the military, wants to settle an argument between two cadets by having them compete in a cook-off. If it didn't happen in front of me, I would think that this is the biggest prank in history. But this isn't a prank. Pixis is one hundred percent dead serious.

"I-I don't mean to be rude Commander Pixis, but we are soldiers. Cooking is not in our--" Jean gets interrupted by Sasha putting the potato into his face.

"Jean! How much do you even know about cooking?" She asks and she looks very serious about this.

"Exactly! I bet your mom always cooked for you at home!" Connie yells and I chuckle after hearing that. He might be right, but he isn't the one to talk. I'm not even sure if he can cook or not.

"Jean, my boy, I will teach you the true art of cooking." Sasha says and then she takes a big bite out of her potato. She and Jean do a little stare down as she is violently chewing her potato. Armin and I take a few steps forward and I'm very curious about what Jean is gonna do. I don't think he is going to take the challenge, though. He can't cook for shit. After a few seconds though, Jean clinches both his fists.

"Fine! Let's do this!" He says confidently, catching me off guard. "Cooking, cleaning... throw whatever you like at me." He is flailing his arms around so much that I have to pull Armin back just to avoid him getting slapped by Jean. "If I win, you must stay out of my way, potato girl!"

Armin and I look at each other and we are just as confused as the rest of us. We can't believe what we are witnessing here.

"Good!" Pixis says. "The battle will take place tonight! Both of you will cook and serve a main course for dinner! Bring your best dish to the table!"

After he says that, the circle of people around us start cheering and I just can't help myself but to laugh. This is literally unbelievable.

"A cooking duel between Sasha and Jean!"

"This will be worth watching!"

"I won't be able to sleep tonight!"

"We won't let you sleep, anyway!" I laugh even more after hearing that. I hold my hands up as I'm ready to just give up on life. This is a literal circus. Pixis then walks away with a smile on his face. Like a proud old man who did a good job. 

"You have no chance against me, Jean!" Sasha says as she swallows the potato in her mouth.

"Ha! Keep thinking that!" Jean says and puts his hands on his hips. "I will beat you."

"I think I better go." I say while holding my hand up. I turn to Armin and Annie and smile at them. "See you later. And good luck, Jean!" I slap Jean on his back and he falls forward a bit. "You too, Sasha." I walk up to Sasha and tap her on the shoulder. "Let's go, Bert. Where's Marco?"

"He went to the bathroom." Bert says as we make our way past the crowd. "He should come back in a few minutes." I walk past some cadets before he grabs me by my shoulder and leans closer to me. "And... don't call me Bert."

His voice deeI raise my eyebrow at him in confusion.

_What's with this sudden attitude change?_

"O-kay... I won't." I say as we get out of the crowd.

"Thanks." Bertholdt says.

"Yeah, whatever." I say and I look to my right to see Eren and Mikasa. Mikasa is holding a box, while Eren is holding a tiny basket. "Oh, hey guys!" 

"Hey, Leo." Eren says and I reach my hand out for a handshake which Eren takes without hesitation.

"Mikasa." I say as I tap her on the shoulder. She just nods at me.

"What was that all about?" Eren asks me and I start chuckling again. Both Mikasa and Eren look at me confused.

"Leo?" Mikasa asks me.

"Hu! Man." I wipe my forehead and eyes. "Okay. Long story short, Jean and Sasha started arguing and then Pixis came and to settle their differences, he put them into a cooking contest."

"A cooking contest?" Mikasa asks as Eren chuckles.

"Seriously? Jean can't cook to save his life." Eren says and we both start laughing hard.

"Y-you're... you're right!" I struggle to speak while I'm laughing. I manage to calm down after a few seconds, though. "Okay, then. I uh... go now. You do what you have to do and uh... we do what we have to. Let's go Bert..." I accidentaly call him by the name he wanted me not to and he sends he an angry glare. "...hhhholdt." I correct myself nervously while making an apologetic smile. He snorts as he turns around. "Fucking prick." I say quietly.

"I heard that." He says without even looking at me. I try to say something but then I decide not to. I look back at Eren and Mikasa who both look at me confused. I just shrug and wave them goodbye. I jog next to Bertholdt.

"You know, I think I prefer when you are quiet." I say and he just rolls his eyes as I can't help but to chuckle a little. "Alright. So--"

"LEO!" I suddenly hear Jean calling my name. Bertholdt and I look at each other confused and then we look at Jean who is literally running towards us.

"What?" I ask as he arrives, with Armin and Annie casually walking behind him. Jean takes a few seconds to catch his breath. "C'mon, Jean. We ain't got all day."

"You..." Jean then all of a sudden grabs me by my coat. "You have to help me!"

"Whoah, wait, what?!" I try to remove his hands off me but his grip is too strong and I don't want to tore my uniform.

"Please! Help me! I know you are a decent cook. You gotta have something for your cousin, right?" Jean sounds so desperate. Actually, I've even never seen him  _this_ desperate before. But that doesn't change the fact that I have zero reasons to help him.

"Okay, first off: Let go!" I knock his hands away. And even Armin and Annie arrive, too. "Second of all: _You_ are the one who agreed to the cook-off. Not me."

"But--"

"No buts!" I cut him off and even slap him on his chest. "Listen. I've got some stuff to do. I don't have time to teach you how to cook." Jean opens his mouth to say something but I cut him off again. "And even if I did help you, you  _still_ wouldn't win this competition. It's freaking  _Sasha_ we are talking about."

"Oh, c'mon!" Jean freaks out. "That stupid potato girl is just all talk!"

"Don't insult her like that, Jean." I say while crossing my arms and my comment makes Jean even more frustrated.

"Yeah. That was uncalled for." Armin joins in and the face Jean is making is just cracking me the hell up. 

"Look. Jean. You said yes, and to be fair, you were very passionate about the whole thing. So, there is nothing to worry about, right?" I smile and playfully smack his arm. "See you later. You too Armin, Annie."

I start walking away with Jean just standing there in total silence. He really doesn't like that I'm ignoring him.

"Leo! Please!" He begs again and I stop walking. "Just..."

He sounds desperate and angry. Not a healthy combo, especially for Jean. I take a deep breath and I decide to give him just a little hint

"You know what?" I say as I turn around. "I'm gonna give you a hint, okay. So pay attention." He first raises his eyebrows at me and looks at his squad mates then back at me and nods. "What is, the most delicious rare food, today?"

We stare at each other awkwardly for a few seconds while I'm waiting for an answer.

"Meat." He answers.

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner." I sigh in relief as I cross my arms.

"But, wait. How am I gonna get meat?" He says and I smirk. I signal him to step closer with my finger and he does. He stands in front of me and I put my arm around him and turn him to look at the paper on the wall. He gapes as he stares in wonder. "The Colossal Boar...?"

"Yes." I whisper in his ear. I let go of him and I silently start walking away with Bertholdt, since my job here is done.

 

_**Three hours later** _

 "Hey, Leo. Take this for a second." Marco says as he hands a crate to me.

"Why? You can't hold it?" I say as I take it from him.

"No. Just... I have something in my shoes." He responds and leans on the cart to take off his shoe. My jaw drops at the sight.

"Take it." I say to Bertholdt but he doesn't do what I asked him. "Don't refuse!" I raise my voice and shove the crate into his hands so he has no choice but to take it. "I'll bring that one here." 

I walk to that one, lonely crate we left at the door of the building we are carrying from. These crates are filled to hell with all kinds of equipment. Blades, gas tanks, gears, horseshoes, clothes, etcetera. We are almost done as well. I pick up the crate and take it back to Marco who already put his shoe back.

"Hey, I take it." He says and reaches for the crate but I move it away from him.

"No. You go up there and arrange the crates." I say and nod my head at the pile we created. Marco looks at it and after a few seconds of hesitation, he sighs and climbs up.

"Is that the last one?" Bertholdt asks after putting the crate I gave him down.

"Yep." I say and put the crate on the cart. "The very last one." I put my hands on my hip as a sign of happiness, as I know that I'll be finally able to catch some break. It's starting to get dark, too, so we deserve to get one. Especially since a lot of the cadets are doing absolutely nothing today after the exercise was over. Thomas even visited his parents. I look at Bertholdt but he doesn't share the same feeling of happiness. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, uh... nothing." He says while scratching the back of his head. "Just tired. That's all."

"We all are tired, Bertholdt." I say. "But, we are done. We just wait for the officers to take this cart, and we are done."

"Yeah." Bertholdt sighs and Marco climbs down from the crates.

"It's fixed." He says and stretches his arms out. "So, we are done for today. Right?"

"Yes." Bertholdt and I answer at the same time.

"So, what are you going to do now?" He asks.

"I eat something in the dining hall and then I go visit my home." I say while stretching myself out.

"Oh, yeah. And you, Bertholdt?" Marco asks Bertholdt but he just shrugs without saying anything. Then my stomach growls as one of the officers comes to take the cart.

"Okay, if he needs something, you two can handle it." I say as I start walking away from them. "I go eat something."

I wave at them and quickly get out of there before they can stop me. Marco does shout after me but I pretend that I don't hear him. I giggle as I get farther and farther away. A few minutes later, I arrive at the door of the dining hall. Just as I'm about to grab the knob someone quickly opens it with clear anger.

"JUST GO HOME!" I hear Jean yelling as he pushes a woman through the door and slams it back. I'm shocked to see the person in front of me. She is Jean's mother.

"U-Um... Mrs... Kirstein?" I awkwardly say as I'm still trying to pull myself together. She looks at me with tears flooding in her eyes.

"Leo?" She says and her voice just brakes my heart. "I... I'm sorry. I... I shouldn't have come here!"

She all of a sudden turns around and starts walking away with quick steps. 

"W-what-- Wait!" I try to grab her but her hand slips out of mine and I'm just too confused and shocked to walk after her. I don't understand what happened just now. But there is one thing that I do understand. Jean is a dick to his mother again. I clench my fist in anger and I furiously slam the door open. And luckily, Jean is still standing there, looking pissed and surprised at the same time. "Jean!" I growl at him and without a second of hesitation, I punch him in the face. He falls down on his ass and the punch even hurt my hands a little. "You fucking idiot."

"Ow! What the hell, Leo?!" Jean says while holding his bleeding nose.

"I told you to be nicer to your mom!" I say and I kneel down and grab his head to make him look into my eyes. "Didn't I tell you?"

Jean sniffs and tries to wipe the blood away and he gets some on my hands which makes me shove his face away.

"Who cares?!" He says as he slowly stands up. "She shouldn't have even come here! Why can't she mind her own business?!"

I frown at Jean and this time I kick him in the stomach. He falls onto the railing and almost falls over it but I grab him at the last second.

"You should just fucking appreciate that you _still_ have a mother left." I whisper to him while leaning close to his face. I can feel him shaking a little. "You know, not all of us can say that."

A huge silence descends into the hall. No one says or reacts anything. Jean and I are staring into each other's eyes while I'm holding him by the collar of his coat. I feel like kicking the crap out of him, but I remember that he has a cook-off later this evening. So I decide to take a deep breath and let him go. Everyone in the hall is staring at us, especially at me. I look down at Eren and even he looks quite shocked. I meet Armin's gaze and he looks at me with a concerned look. I angrily grunt and turn around to go after Jean's mother. It takes me only thirty seconds to catch up with her as she is slowly walking because of her crying so much. She hears me running up to her and looks up at me.

"L-Leo?" She sobs and wipes the tears out of her eyes but she can't stop crying. Without saying anything, I wipe the tears away with the sleeve of my coat. "T-Thank you." 

I nod with a smile. The way she is right now makes me feel so sorry for her. It's just terrible how she is treated by Jean. Then again, who  _doesn't_ get treated terribly by Jean? The only exceptions I found this far were the girls. Except Sasha. And his mother. And Ymir.

"What are you doing here?" I ask while trying to be as careful as I can. I don't want to sound rude.

"Oh, I uh... I... wanted to..." She finds it difficult to speak. I hold up my hands to stop her and show her to take a deep breath and then continue. "I wanted to see... Jean. You know, Thomas already returned home to his mother, so I figured I'd better go check where he is."

"Ah. I get it." I answer and she finally stopped crying entirely. "Well, he is fine, as you... experienced. A little... well,  _very_ disrespectful and problem child, but... he's doing okay."

I try to lighten the mood somehow but I'm not the best at that. Especially when I'm _this_ angry at Jean. 

"Well, he is." She says while slightly looking down. "I-I'm worried. Does he have friends, Leo?"

I raise my eyebrow at that question. I did not expect this topic to appear. But soon, I realize what she thinks.

"Oh. Oh! No, that's not it. You've got the wrong idea." I say and she looks surprised. 

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"He does have friends, that's not a problem. The problem is the fact that for some reason he-- um..." I want to say that for some reason Jean hates her but I quickly stop myself which makes her suspicious.

"For some reason he what?" She asks and there's an awkward silence between us which lasts for a bit too long. "Leo?"

"I-I-I mean uh... he is just um... stressed, you know?" I stutter and I'm just all over the place. "Even today's training. He uh..." I think that mentioning the cook-off might be a bad idea, starting with the fact that Mrs. Kirstein knows her child can't cook and she might go there and help him, despite the unnecessary hatred he has for her. "He got a bit stressed and... argh you know. Normal stuff. Something that happens with all of us."

I take a deep breath, thinking I convinced her to not worry about Jean. I'm never good at this stuff. Mostly because everyone overreacts for some reason and I'm just trying to find the quickest way to get out of an uncomfortable situation.

"Ah, I get it." She says and I feel relieved as fuck. "Well, I hope he gets better. You _are_ keeping an eye on him, right?"

"I keep an eye on everyone, Mrs. Kirstein." I smile and lightly tap her on the shoulder. We stare at each other for a couple of seconds before I decide to speak again. "So, are you going home?"

"U-Um, yes. I am." She says and folds the napkin in her hands. "And you?"

"Well, I... actually wanted to go home, check on the house... but, I do it after I walked you home."

"Oh, that's not necessary." She rejects my offer but I stand by it.

"Hey, we didn't talk for two years. I think this little walk to your home might be enough for some time. Don't you think?" I ask and motion my hand to the way the road goes. She looks at it then back at me.

"Okay." She says and I smile before we start walking. "So, Leo. Tell me then. How is it in the military?"

"Oh, you know. It's uh... quite challenging." I try to recall the memories as quickly as I can to not let our walk to be filled with silence most of the time. "We have hand-to-hand combat, we do a lot of running, ODM training... more running."

"It sounds strenuous." She says.

"It is." I say and I don't talk for a few seconds. "But we all managed. Well, not all of us."

"What do you mean?" The horrible memories are coming back. The ones I am trying to forget. I look at Mrs. Kirstein and she looks worried.

"You know, the thing is... it's such a hard training that... some of us actually die." I say and I hear her gasp.

"Really?" She asks and I remember one of the cadets who died right in front of me. I was sitting next to a big rock because my gear malfunctioned and I tried to fix it. Apparently, that one guy's gear malfunctioned too and he landed right on the rock, on his head, killing him instantly. It was scary. "Leo?"

"Ah!" I gasp loudly as I get knocked back to the present. I look at Mrs. Kirstein who looks even more worried.

"Are you okay?" She asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I say as I take a deep breath. "I've just... remembered something. That's all."

_C'mon, Leo! Keep it together!_

I can't talk right now. The sudden remembering of that guy dying is more haunting than I thought. It happened a few months ago, but it feels like it was yesterday. I don't feel like this all the time, but there were more of a few occasions, when I was in the air and I froze because I remembered what happened on that day. It haunts me more than my dad's death. As a matter of fact, whenever I think of my dad, I don't feel anything. Sometimes I feel like he is not gone at all. Like sometimes I expect him to walk through the door for some reason. I don't know why, but this happened multiple times. No one knows about this and probably no one ever will.

"Hey. We are here." I hear Mrs. Kirstein talking and I look around and see the Kirstein Residence. I'm a bit confused as I have no idea how long I was zoning out. "You were quiet the entire time and looked a bit wierd. Maybe you need to get some sleep."

"Yeah. Yeah, I probably should." I say. "But I go home first. I really want to see if it's in one piece or not."

"Okay, then." She says. "And Leo." She looks at me with a wide smile on her face. "Keep looking after each other."

Her being happy makes me feel a bit better. I walk up to her and give her a hug.

"We will, Mrs. Kirstein. We will." I say before we separate. "Okay, I go now. Goodbye."

"Bye." She says and I start walking away before turning back one last time.

"Oh, and give Mr. Kirstein my regards."

"I will. Bye." We both laugh as she enters her home and I start walking towards mine. The entire time I'm walking, the only fear I have is that my house got taken over by some thugs. It wouldn't be a huge surprise, since I live in a dangerous neighborhood, but still. All of my stuff. All of my dad's stuff. I took nothing from there, since I didn't need a lot. Except for a few clothes, but that's it. And while I'm thinking about all this, I turn the last corner I have to to get to the neighborhood and I am majorly surprised by the sight. No barricade, no soldiers or civilians running around, no violence, the buildings look in great shape and most of all, my house is still intact. Although, I don't remember that sign at the walkway saying:

**Where are you, Syxton?**

**\- Your next door neighbor**

I sigh and shake my head at it. My next door neighbor. A sad, lonely man who argued with my dad a lot. And for some reason, hates my guts. But to actually make a sign like this, I don't quite believe this. But it's nice that he actually thought of me, since he always called me Syxton instead of my first name like my dad. I walk up the stairs to my door and I take out my key. I put it into the keyhole and I find it a bit difficult to turn it. After a little struggle, I'm able to open the door. It doesn't open immediately so I give it a couple pushes before I am finally inside my house. And it is exactly what I expected: Dust, spider webs and dirt  _everywhere_. This is how my home looks like.

"Huh. It seems like the old bastard didn't bother to clean it."

I close the door behind me and I take a rug which I left on the coffee table. I walk up to the counter and check if I still get water or some asshole cut the pipes, but as it turns out, I do. I clean the sink and the sideboard. I look around the house to see if any animals made their way into it but I don't find anything. I go upstairs and I walk into my room. My bed looks so dirty but so comfortable at the same time. I pick up the blanket and shake it outside the window to get some of the dust out of it. And the window is so dusty that I can't see through it.

_This place looks like a mess. I should've thought about asking someone to take care of it once a month at least. But they probably wouldn't have done it, so it doesn't matter._

I angrily grunt as I put the blanket back.

"So. Much. Cleaning." I put both my hands on my nape and take a deep breath as I'm thinking what to do. "Okay. I clean tomorrow. I ask some of the guys if they want to join me or not. They probably won't, but who knows. They can surprise me when I least expe--"

I can't finish my monologue as I walk past my dad's room and I notice that it is open. After I stare at it's door for a few seconds, I decide to just take a look inside. There is nothing special in it. Just some books, his desk cover with layers of paper and dust, but the things that catches my attention are a pair of gloves and a knife. I remember those. My dad used to wear the gloves whenever we went outside the woods. I've never found them trendy. They always looked odd to me. They aren't the usual gloves. These ones have their 'fingers' cut off. For style, as my dad called it. But for some reason, now they look freaking great. And I get the urge to try them on and they don't feel bad. They are quite comfortable. And the knife. It was my dad's second favorite weapon. The first one being his wit. He used to wear it around his ankle, to keep it hidden. So if he got attacked, he would surprise the attacker. Luckily, he never had to demonstrate it to me directly. I pick it up and it feels very light for it's size. It's a bit rusty but there is probably a way to fix that. I kneel down and tie the knife in its holster to my left ankle. It doesn't feel like the most comfortable thing in the world, but I can get used to it. It's another thing if Shadis will actually let me wear it.

I decide that it's time to go back. There will be a lot of cleaning tomorrow and I hope that it's not going to be just me. I quickly walk outside while staring at my glove. They look so good on me, it's unbelievable. I lock my door and start walking back to the others but I stop at the sign. I look at it, then at my neighbor's house and I decide to give it back. I pick up the sign and I walk to the door of my neighbor's house and gently knock on it.

"Who is it?!" The voice is mean, angry, and all around super annoying. I take a deep breath before answering.

"Someone who wants to give a sign back!" I choose my words carefully to make sure he opens the door. He doesn't say anything but I hear him murmur something as he walks up to his door. The door slowly opens with a loud, ear-killing squeak and the man stands in front of me with an annoyed expression on his face. We stare at each other and the more seconds pass, the more his face starts loosening up. I think he finally noticed who I am.

"Oh. You." He says and he is still a bit annoyed. "Syxton."

I gulp as I try to keep my composure.

"Yes. And... to answer your question." I say as I turn the sign towards him. "I'm here."

He slightly raises an eyebrow as he slowly takes the sign from me.

"Hehe, I see." This is the happiest I have  _ever_ seen him. "Well then. Now you can fuck off already!"

He suddenly yells at me and slams the door on me. Even it's handle falls off and I just stand there completely dumbfounded.

"Wow! I knew you were a nutcase, but this is a little too much, don't you think?!" I yell at him but he doesn't answer back. "Bastard."

I punch the door and walk away. I thought that we will be able to have a fine conversation or something like that, but no. That's not the case with this guy. My dad said he was crazy but I didn't think that it was  _this_ serious. But it's not my problem. I just want to eat some nice meal and I just can't wait for this day to be over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 13 preview: After three years of hard work, the 104th Cadet Corps successfully graduate. However, Eren's determination on joining the Survey Corps raises a few other people's interest in joining him, which enrages Leo. And one wrong comment from both of them managed to ruin a good friendship between the two. And to top all that, something horrifying happens.
> 
> Chapter 13: Graduation


	13. Graduation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHT! DISCLAIMER!  
> It is for sure that these chapters will be released monthly, since I have no reason to rush these out. Even though I could, but I'm a bit lazy. (sorry... hehe). So the chapters will be released on the 12th of every month from now on. And one more thing: Jean and Leo are NOT cousins. I changed that because if they are, that would be a problem for me.  
> I think that's it. Enjoy!

"Checkmate." Armin says as he lets go of his chess piece.

"What?!" Reiner straightens up as I open my eyes to see what's going on while I'm resting in a chair. I take a look at the chess board and I see that Reiner's pieces are all wiped out and only his king is standing. Armin got him good this time. "Your're right." Reiner grunts. "Well, congrats. You won three times in a row."

Reiner sighs as Armin smiles while he cleans down the board. And I'm just silently smiling at him while trying to find a comfortable position. I love watching these two play chess. The satisfaction that Armin gets after beating Reiner is truly amazing. It always brings a smile to my face. And even though he always loses, Reiner never becomes angry. Sometimes it's close, but he always comes up short. But then again, who would be able to beat Armin at chess, a game which requires extreme patience and a huge mind to strategy? Those are things that Reiner clearly doesn't have.

"Another one?" Armin asks and Reiner shakes his head while he's drinking from his bottle.

"Nah, not now." He says and puts the bottle down. "Nature is calling me, so I have to take care of that." He stands up to leave but then takes a look at me and then at Armin. "Go one with Leo."

That sentence is almost enough to make me fall backwards on the chair.

"What?! Me?! Are you serious?!" I say as I sit up straight. Reiner just smirks at me.

"Yes. I am." He says. "I mean, you always  _watch_  Armin win at chess. How about you actually get to  _experience_  it?"

I adjust myself in my chair and I look at Armin who's just looking at me in silence, waiting for an answer.

"Forget it." I say and Reiner chuckles. "I'm serious."

"Oh, come  _on,_ Leo." Reiner says as he walks a bit closer to me.

"No! I am  _not_ getting my ass handed to me in chess by Armin!  _Screw. That."_  I lean back in my chair and put my hands on my temple.

"Armin would like that. Right?" Reiner says and he looks at Armin. He and I look at each other and I feel my heart all of a sudden skip a beat.

"W-Well, I uh... wouldn't mind." He says and I gulp a little. "And besides, I'm curious to see how smart Leo actually is."

Reiner tries to hold back his laugh and I give him a cold stare. He eventually turns around and starts laughing while making his way to the door.

"I don't see the joke, Reiner." I say as I get up from my chair. "Care to tell me?"

"Naaah, I'm-- HAHAHA!" Reiner can't finish his sentence because he starts laughing uncontrollably. He leaves the room but I can still hear his laughter from the corridor quietly. After I can't hear him laugh, I look at Armin and I see that he already set up the chess board.

"So, you want to see if I'm smart or not?" I say and he gets a bit surprised. I smile at him as I lean onto the chair in front of the desk which has the chess board on it.

"Th-That's not what I said." He says and I raise an eyebrow.

"Then what?" I decide to sit down while keep looking at him.

"I said I want to know  _how_ smart you are." He says before drinking from his tea. "I don't doubt that you are smart."

"Yeah, but... I did misunderstand what you said, though." I say as I pick up the bottle Reiner drank from. "That makes me be a step behind."

I take sip from the bottle as Armin makes a half-smile.

"That's right. But... you did realize that, so that brings you a step forward." He says and I smile at him after I finish drinking.

"Yeah. But I didn't realize this. Does that..." I slowly put the bottle down next to me. "...takes me one step back again?"

Armin crosses his arms and we silently start staring at each other. I'm grinning but Armin is pouting and even tapping his foot on the ground. And that is enough to make my heart start beating out of control.

"You know, it's better if we start." He says as he leans forward and I feel a bit more uncomfortable. But I manage to hide that from him pretty well.

"Okay uh... can I... be black?" I ask and Armin raises his eyebrow.

"Um... sure. Why not?" He chuckles and turns the board to get the black ones to me.

"Alright. You first." I say and I lean back in my chair a little. Armin looks at the board and without hesitation, he moves his second from the left pawn one place forward. I take my pawn opposite to it and move it two forward two places. "Just so you won't make it too far."

I quietly laugh as Armin moves his fourth pawn from the right two places with a little smile on his face. I decide to take the pawn opposite to it and move it forward one place, making the same moves we did but only this time, the roles switched. I made a mistake, though, as Armin takes his bishop he made way for and takes out the pawn I moved first with.

_Shit. I didn't pay attention._

"Uuuh I forgot to tell you... I suck at chess." I say and Armin chuckles a little. He doesn't say anything though and I make my next move. This time, I decide to take my third pawn from the left one place up, which forces Armin to move his bishop if he doesn't want to lose it.

"Not bad..." He quietly says.

"Thank you." I say as he moves back his bishop one place up to the right. Now it's my turn. After a few seconds of thinking, I take my right knight and move it next to the pawn I moved with. This forces Armin to move his pawn forward, but that forces  _me_   to move my knight if I don't want to lose it. I move my knight forward two places then one to the right. Armin then moves a pawn one place forward which forces me to move my knight again. I clench my left fist under the table as I take the knight and move it to the one place I can: two places back and one to the right.

"You didn't want to take my pawn?" Armin asks and I sense a cocky tone in his voice.

"If I take your pawn, you take my knight. That's not worth it." I answer as Armin moves a new pawn to the right of his bishop.

"You are holding up quite good, to be honest." He says and I can't get my eyes off the board.

"Yeah..." I decide to move my far left pawn forward a bit but then I notice that his queen has a clean way towards a check. I move the pawn forward one place either way and just as I suspected, he moves his queen in front of it, creating a check. "I knew that would happen."

"There was something you could have done." He says. "It wasn't a good idea to not move your pawn forward two places." 

I almost touch my king to move but that sentence makes me stop.

"What do you mean?" I say as I look at his queen. I don't notice anything strange.

"Because if you did, then I wouldn't have moved there. Because of your rook." He finishes and taps on my rook. I quickly realize how stupid I am and slap my forehead.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" I say and I angrily move my king to the one place I can. One to the up-right. He moves his queen two places to the right, making another check, but this time, I can block his way with a pawn. I figure he would move his queen back, but no. He takes out the pawn, putting his queen into my king's reach.

"Checkmate." He happily says and leans back with a smile on his face. But I just get confused.

"W-What do you mean 'checkmate'?" I say as I move my king to take out his queen. "I took your queen."

Armin gapes at me but then smiles. And this smile is not the kind that makes me feel uneasy. No, this makes me feel terrified. He takes his pawn and then takes out my king.

"That's what I mean." He says as he puts my king down. And now, I feel even more stupid. I slap my forehead again. Armin laughs as I bury my face in my hand.

"Did I tell you that I suck at chess?" I say and we both are laughing now. After I finish laughing, I rest my head on my hand and I elbow on the desk. I stare at Armin who still chuckles a little.

I'm still not sure how I feel about him. Two years after that little incident happened, and I  _still_ don't know how I feel. The others seem to have forgotten it though. It's only Ymir who teases me constantly with it. But she only does it when we are private, thankfully. But, who is she to talk? She has a relationship with Krista. Those two have been having an affair for quite some time now and only I know about that. And I only found out about it by pure accident. I was walking alone on one quiet night when I heard them snickering. I walked towards the direction of the sound and then I noticed them making out. They didn't notice me, so they don't even know that I know about them. That happened a few months ago so I know how to keep a secret. And Marco is keeping his mouth shut, too. But this whole thing with Armin, it's never becoming clear. The one thing I'm sure about is that I definitely have a crush on Annie. The only problem is that I'm too scared to talk to her. And when they were times when we did talk, I never said anything romance related. This is funny. Here I am as a guy, who clearly likes a girl who is terrifying to most people,  _and_ is confused about an other guy.

Armin stops laughing after he notices me staring at him. We stare at each other in an awkward silence and I can't make myself look away.

"What?" He asks and I bring my head up from my hand.

"Nothing. Just... nothing." I sigh as I take the bottle and drink from it.

"Are you thinking about the graduation?" He asks while I'm drinking. I look at him and I stop drinking.

"Well... not really." I wipe the water from my lips. "But now that you mention it..." I start tapping the floor with my leg. "It's so crazy it's tonight. Right?"

"Yeah..." Armin sighs and I lift the bottle up to drink but then I notice that it is empty. I get disappointed and I put it down on the ground. I lean back in the chair and I stare at Armin who is reorganizing the board.

"Three years passed." I say before flicking. "Just like that." Armin doesn't say anything, not even when he finishes with the board. "Something's wrong?"

He gets a little surprised by my question. 

"Oh, no. No, everything's fine." He says but I'm not convinced. "Just..."

He starts but doesn't finish the sentence which makes me wonder.

"Just?" I try to make him finish what he started. He looks at me and I don't really like the look on his face. Something is clearly bothering him.

"Just..." He sighs. "I'm just concerned about... you know... what the others will do, after graduating."

"What else would they do?" I ask as I cross my arms behind my head. "All of them who will make it into the top ten, will join the Military Police." I finish talking but then I suddenly realize that statement is not entirely true. "Well, except Eren. And possibly Mikasa. Those two, will definitely join the Survey Corps."

I become a bit frustrated when I think about Eren. I stretch my arms and cross my legs on the table and rest my eyes.

"Y-Yeah, I... know that." Armin sounds off to me. But that is understandable, given the fact that he is concerned about our future. "So... you will join the Military Police then? You sure?"

"Yep." I say with my eyes closed. "And don't worry. I'll make sure to visit you in the Garrison every chance I get, okay?" I try to cheer him up but even after a few seconds go by, he still stays quiet. "Armin?" He quickly looks up at me after I call out his name and even tries to say something, but he can't. I start to think that I might have said something bad. "Did I say anything that offended you or... what?"

"O-Oh, no. No, that's... not, the case." He cracks a small smile but it looks and feels forced.

"Then what?" I ask as I sit up normally in my chair.

"You... you said that... you will visit me in the Garrison." The tone in his voice concerns me a bit. 

"Y-yes, I... did say that. But... why is that so strange?" I ask while being totally confused about this situation. Armin and I never really talked about where we will continue our lives after training is over. "I-I mean, I don't want to sound weird or anything... just... you know..."

This awkward feeling again. It stops me from making sense of my sentences. I decide to keep quiet and have Armin talk. Whenever he decides to. In the meantime, I look at the door and I'm starting to wonder about Reiner being super late. I guess he is probably having a massive number two.

"Leo?" Armin's voice puts my attention back at him. 

"Hm?" This is the only thing that leaves my mouth. And I didn't even have to move my lips for it. I smile at him, waiting for a response.

"I'm... not... joining the Garrison..." He says carefully and quietly. This makes the smile fade away slowly, and I start to become angrier as more seconds go by. I slowly lean forward as Armin looks up at me. He looks scared. He is afraid of my reaction. And unsurprisingly, I don't welcome this information with pure joy.

"What?" I quietly say as I grab the edge of the table and tighten my grip to try to let my anger get drained by something else.

"I... I'm joining the Survey Corps. With Eren." He says and mentioning Eren was the  _one_  thing he should have  _not_ done.

_Eren!_

I look down and the thought of Eren makes me shake with anger. My grip on the edge of the table is so strong, I wouldn't be surprised if it cracked.

"Uhhh... Leo?" Armin sounds like he doesn't know why I'm getting angry. But I know that he will get it a few moments later. I start breathing very heavily and I think back to what Eren said to me.

_"You are not different than him."_

This is enough for me to snap and flip the whole table across the room. Armin screams as the chess pieces fly all around the place and I grab him by his coat and lift him up from his chair.

"Eren made you go with him. Right?" I ask him as I lean close to his face. He raises his eyebrow at me. He doesn't seem like he knows what I mean.

"What? I don't--"

"Tell the truth!" I shake him and I force him against the wall. He is about to shed a tear.

"No! He-- Leo. Please, get... off me!" He tries to push me away but it's no use. And I refuse to let go until I don't get a honest answer.

"Armin! Don't! Please!" I try to change his mind. I don't want him to die. Eren can do whatever the hell he wants, but I'm not letting Armin go with him. "You would be excellent in the Garrison!" Armin tries pushing my arms away again but they don't even budge. "You would become a Captain in no time! Or, or even better! A Commander!"

"L-Leo..." Armin is getting pushed to the wall stronger and stronger by me as the seconds go by. I can't control myself. The thought of him joining the Survey Corps makes me mad. And I know he meant the Survey Corps, because I know that there is no way in hell he's making it into the top ten.

"Don't you dare! Don't you FUCKING DARE!" I shake Armin again and his head even hits the wall. Then I hear the door opening.

"Leo!" Reiner calls out my name and I look to my right to see him standing in the door, looking confused. "What are you doing?!"

I keep pressing Armin against the wall and I have little desire to let go. But Reiner's appearance forces me to do it. I look back at Armin who looks terrified. That's no surprise, since I can be pretty dangerous and unpredictable when I snap. I lean close into Armin's face before I let go of him. He leans down and tries to get some air as I furiously turn around and start walking out of the room.

"Hey, hey! Leo!" Reiner tries to grab me but I growl as I shove his arm away.

I quickly make my way out and I just want to get away as far as possible. I can't believe that Armin would do such a thing. This whole time I thought he will join the Garrison, but nope. He won't. I walk to the nearest bathroom and shut the door, creating a loud noise. I wash my face with cold water to calm myself down. I'm sweating, my eyes are twitching, and I can't get Eren out of my head. And that makes me even more angry. I throw water on my face and look at myself in the mirror. The water mostly washed off the sweat by now. Now I'm just a wet mess, and not in the fun way.

"Fucking Eren..." I whisper angrily into the mirror. I  _hate_ that guy. I look down at the sink and wash my face again. As I start to move my head away from the water, I start furiously shaking and the only thing that can make my anger go away is hurting something. Or someone. I don't know, but right now, I feel like kicking the crap out of somebody right now. And that's not a good thing. For some reason, I have a weird mental problem. When someone angers me the wrong way, I snap, and I can't control my emotions well. But, how did this happen? And where did my hatred for Eren come from? Well, that happened a couple months ago on a training day, which started good, then became worse, and then, turned into an absolute nightmare.

 

**_ A couple months ago - ODM training _ **

 So far so good. I haven't made a mistake yet. Not that it's common or anything, but today, I'm really feeling it. I use the branch in front of me to give myself a slight boost before I cut the next target. I smirk to myself and I decide to get next to Annie, who is a couple meters in front of me. She cuts the target in front of us and I get right above her. She looks up at me with her usual bored expression. I smirk and wink at her and she just rolls her eyes. She is not very interested but. I laugh before speeding up, letting out a loud 'woho' in the process. I get near to Eren and Mikasa, who both cut the same targets. Mikasa cuts pretty deep both times, as usual, and Eren doesn't even get halfway down. I chuckle as I approach the targets because I notice that there is room for one more. I get into position, move my arms to the side, and with a simple sweeping motion, I get both targets. Not as deep as Mikasa, but miles better than Eren. I notice Eren going for one target and I get a little evil idea. I decide, that it is time to fuck around and steal some points. I shoot my anchors out at two trees and I slingshot myself towards Eren's target with everything I got. I don't worry about my gas, since I still have more than enough left.

"Too slow, Eren!" I shout to him as I pass him. I hear him gasp before I spiral cut the bag on the dummy, making it unable to be cut properly. I turn around to look at Eren to grin at him.

"Are you serious?!" He angrily shouts back at me and I just laugh at him.

"You should think about speeding up a bit, don't you think?" I laugh even harder, still facing Eren. Backwards flying isn't that hard if you get the hang of it. 

"And you should think about facing forward, don't you think?" He smirks at me and I just raise my eyebrow in confusion. But when I turn around, I see what he means.

"Oh, shit!" A tree is in my way. I return my hook and I'm just barely able to spin out of the way. I almost bump into Eren as I dodge the tree.

"Whoah!" Eren says as he moves out of the way. I get next to him after I recover.

"Thanks." I say while wiping a sweat away from my forehead. That could've ended much worse.

"Heh. Don't mention it." He replies as I notice three more dummies ahead of us. Eren and I look at each other and we both smirk. I look at the closest dummy and I'm ready to shoot my anchor, but when I press the button to release the gas, nothing happens. I hear the gear make a strange noise and I scream as I fall to the ground. There is nothing I can do to soften the landing. I roll a good ten meters until I hit a tree. My side got the worst of it.

"What the... hell...?" I let out a groan and I'm just barely able to breathe. I don't understand what happened. 

"Leo!" Eren shouts as he makes it to ground level to check up on me. "You okay?" He asks as he offers his hand. I take it but I groan again because of the pain. "Sorry. What happened?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." I say while rubbing the spot it hurts the most at. "My gear gave up." I grab the handle to test the gear. I shoot the anchor out without a problem, but when I press the gas button, the gear just coughs the gas out. And Eren and I both know what that means. "I... ran out of gas."

We are standing there completely confused and I don't know how I managed to run out of gas. Then I hear someone coming our way.

"What's the hold up, cadets?" My heart starts beating fast from this because I know I'm going to be punished badly.

"Nothing, sir!" Eren wants to help me though.

"Then get a move on!" The instructor says and I sigh in relief, thinking I got away. But when I look up at the instructor, he doesn't look like he wants to move until we don't. Eren looks at me with an apologetic face.

"Sorry." He says and leaves me there. And I just stand there like a complete moron. Out of gas. That's pathetic.

"What's wrong, Syxton?" The instructor asks and I just want the ground to swallow me. I gather every courage I have, take a deep breath and I answer the question.

"I ran out of gas, sir!" I am so embarrassed right now. I'm waiting for a huge punishment.

"Well, if that's the case, THEN YOU ARE GOING TO WALK  _ALL_  THE WAY BACK!" He angrily yells. "AND THIS IS GOING TO EFFECT YOUR GRADE BIG TIME!"

He finishes yelling and leaves me there. I expected a lot worse, but that's probably coming when Shadis hears of this. I slap myself in the head multiple times for being stupid. When I start walking, I start to think how I ran out of gas. After a few seconds, the realization hits me. And I slap myself again for being a fucking moron.

 

_**In the evening - Mess hall** _

 Jean is laughing because I told him what happened on ODM training earlier today.

"You... you..." He can't even speak properly. Thankfully, Marco doesn't find it funny. But Daz on the other hand, giggles too. "You seriously forgot to refill your gas before the exercise started?"

"Yeah, I did." I say, a bit annoyed by Jean. "So what?"

"So what?" Jean asks and he calmed down a bit. "I think even a five year old wouldn't forget that."

"Jean, leave him alone." Marco tries to help me, as usual. Whenever Jean annoys me, Marco is there to make Jean stop. It works only once a month.

"Whatever." I say as I rest my head on my hand, staring at nothing. "It's not the end of the world."

"It's pretty pathetic if you ask me." Daz speaks up and he said just the right thing.

"And no one asked you, so shut up!" I lean close to him while saying that before returning to stare into the nothingness.

"Well Leo, this just proves that you are nothing like me." Jean says and I raise an eyebrow.

"I don't think that's a bad thing." I reply without looking at him.

"Unfunny Leo thinks he's funny. As usual." Jean shoots back but I'm too uninterested to say something back. "Unlike you, I developed techniques that will make you maneuver around using less gas."

"And you make it look so easy." Daz says, making Jean feel prouder.

"Duh. It's called having a sixth sense for the using of the gear." Jean says while resting his head on his hand, like me. I notice him staring at Mikasa. I bet he wanted to make sure she hears him, but thankfully, Mikasa doesn't seem interested.

"You will never impress her." I say, a bit more quietly than I wanted.

"What?" Jean's question confirms this. He really didn't hear me.

"Never mind." I roll my eyes and I look away but then I frown in confusion when I notice Eren angrily frowning at Jean. He looks like he has something to say.

"But, as I was saying." Jean continues. "You have to have these special abilities to make the cut. The MP only recruit the best. Right Leo?"

As much as I want to join the MP, I don't like Jean talking about them that much. Even when I don't pay much attention to him. I tap my finger on the table and I hear Marco sigh.

"Man, that would be amazing." He says. "Working under the wings of the king? No greater honor than that."

I, however, do pay attention to  _that._ I roll my eyes and lift my head up.

"Shut up, Marco!" Jean and I say at the same time, and Jean even slaps Marco on the nape, making him spill his drink all over his face.

"We're not children. You can drop this BS." Jean says as he leans into Marco's face. "Honor doesn't have any damn part of it. You just want to have a nice, cushy place in the interior, being as far away from danger as possible. Isn't that right, Leo?"

"That's not true." Marco tries to defend himself. "That's not me at all."

Even though I consider Marco a good and kind person, I don't think  _anyone_ would want to join the MP for the sole purpose of serving under the king. I despise that fuck. But the only way to live a good life while keeping the gear is to serve under him. And Jean might be right. It doesn't matter if Marco is a goody two shoes person, as Jean describes him, there is no way he doesn't want to get away from the titans. Like most people.

"Listen to you, guys." Eren finally decides to speak up. Man, he is so predictable. "Interior? Five years ago, this was part of it."

"You got a point to make, Eren?" Jean sounds a little annoyed. No surprise there. "I'm right here."

"Poor Jean, so misguided." Eren sounds a bit different than usual. "And besides. I don't think your head will fit in the interior, anyway."

Jean's eye twitches as a group of people quietly laugh. And I'm part of that group.

"Very funny." Jean replies. And deep down, I know this won't end well.

"Seems a little backwards to me." Eren continues. "Mastering your titan killing skills so then the brass will station you somewhere where you will never see one."

"You would rather have me good at getting killed?" Jean asks and I don't think he would like the answer. "Thank you, but I'll pass. Better playing the system than getting eaten. Right Leo?"

"What's with these right Leos?" I ask confused but there is a bigger problem here. 

"You son of a bitch!" Eren gets angry and stands up.

"Bring it on, you little bastard!" Jean stands up too and they walk towards each other.

"Great." I say as I roll my head and eyes to look at Daz. "Like I was missing this."

"Eren, please, stop it!" Armin tries to stop Eren, but that's no use. Jean and Eren get into each other's faces and Eren grabs Jean by his shirt.

"Gentlemen, please." But Mikasa stands up and gently removes Eren's arm from Jean. Afte a few seconds of staring at her, Eren calms down. But that little act from Mikasa just managed to piss Jean off even more.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUDGE ME?!" Jean angrily yells as he grabs Eren by his shirt.

"HUH?! IF YOU RIP MY SHIRT YOU'RE DEAD!" Eren replies with what could be the saddest statement I have ever heard. Who cares about a shirt? It _is_ shirt, but still.

"I don't give a damn about your shirt!" Jean says. "You're pissing me off."

"WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY?" Eren doesn't understand why is Jean angry now, but I get it. He is super jealous.

"Don't screw with me! I'm so jealous!" This proves it. But out of nowhere, before things can get really out of hand, Eren grabs Jean's hand, pushes Jean's head way with his other hand and sweeps his leg from under him, making Jean fall on his back with a loud bang. Jean groans as the others gasp and my eyes widen. This was impressive.

"Dammit!" Jean says as he sits up, holding his head. "What the hell was that move?!"

"Little something I picked up this afternoon while you were busy with your thumb up your ass!" Eren sounds dead serious. Something happened with him today, because he never said something like this before. Not with this manner, anyway. "You honestly believe the Military Police is your ticket to the good life? You are not a soldier. You're a joke."

The intensity in Eren's eyes are incredible. He let it all out on Jean. Even though this can't be said to me completely, I still feel a bit angry. But I know that Eren only meant it at Jean. Then all of a sudden, the door opens.

"I hear a loud noise a moment ago." It's Shadis. He probably heard Jean hit the floor. "Anyone care to explain?"

No one says a thing. Eren silently sits down next to Mikasa and Jean next to Armin. I move a bit to the side to hide myself from Shadis because he starts walking into the mess hall.

"Sasha passed some gas, Commandant." Mikasa says as she raises her arm and Sahsa gasps while the others, including me, are trying to hold our laughter back.

"Why am I not surprised?" Shadis asks while holding his fist against his nose and Sasha is even more shocked. "For the love of god, learn some self control."

And with that, Shadis leaves, while Sasha is a bit angry at Mikasa.

"Why, Mikasa?!" She asks while shaking Mikasa's arm. "Why did you say that?! I thought we were friends!"

But Mikasa isn't fazed by her as she grabs a bread and shoves it into Sasha's mouth. And this manages to calm her down.

"We are." Mikasa says and she returns to eating her soup while Eren and Jean are glaring at each other. I, on the other hand, can't hold my laughter back. I wipe away my tears and I sigh in joy and go back to resting my head on my hand.

"Guys, c'mon!" I say to Eren and Jean. "Only a few more months and we are done. Try to not kill each other, okay?"

Eren then looks at me the same way he looked at Jean.

"I don't know why you are so happy, since you two are in the same boat." This makes me raise my eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I ask as I lift my head up. Even Jean is a bit confused.

"What do you think I mean?" Eren asks, with the same intensity he talked to Jean with. "You joined up because of the MP, too."

"Eren--"

"And you try to act like you are different." Jean tried to stop Eren but he got cut off. And the more he talks, the angrier I get. "When Jean said that you are nothing like him, I disagree. You are not different than him."

My blood is boiling so bad right now. I can't believe he just said that. Like he forgot that I was there in Shiganshina, that I didn't go through a similar hell he did. We both lost someone, and he acts like that's not the case. I feel a sudden urge that I haven't felt before. Eren returns to eat his meal while Jean is looking concerned about me. I clench my fist slowly, while shaking in anger. And then, all of a sudden, I get flashbacks of that terrible day. And right now, I feel like killing Eren.

"Leo!" Jean yells because he sees me get up and jump towards Eren. He looks up and the only thing he sees, is my fist. One second later, he even feels it on his face. I knock him down from the bench, making the others gasp.

"Leo!" Armin yells too and I grab Eren from the ground, who looks confused and angry, and slam him against the wall.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" I can't control myself. My anger took control completely. I punch Eren multiple times before I'm separated from him by Jean.

"Hey! Calm down!" Jean says but he can't hold me down for long. I run towards Eren and I'm ready to punch him again, but he moves out of the way, making me punch a hole in the wall.

"Hey! What's your problem?!" Eren asks as I get restrained by Mikasa, Jean and Marco.

"What's my problem?! What's my PROBLEM?!" I try to break free, but three people is too much for me. "YOU ARE THE PROBLEM! Thinking you are all cool because you want to fight! Well, guess what?! NO ONE CARES!"

Eren tries to kick me but Reiner pulls him back.

"Eren, no!" Mikasa tells him.

"Leo, calm down!" Armin steps in front of me but I shove him away with my free arm.

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" I yell, even angrier than before. And now, my focus is on completely on Eren. "You say that I'm not that different than Jean, huh?! Well, do you know what you are?!" Eren stands in silence and I give him a crazy smirk, which even surprises him a bit. Even I don't recognize myself right now. But what I'm about to say, is completely uncalled for. "You. Are. A son of a. Dead. BITCH!"

Eren's eyes widen and I keep smiling at him, not even showing a little bit of regret about what I just said.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Eren yells and he breaks free from Reiner and wants to kick me, but I grab his leg with my arm and pull him towards me, making him fall down. This little incident gives me a window of opportunity to break free and pound on Eren.

"Bring it, fuckface!" I say while I'm trying to hit him in the face. "BRING IT!"

I get grabbed by Reiner and he straight up shoves me into the wall. Marco helps him restrain me while Mikasa holds Eren back. The others are just watching in silence. 

"HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH A THING?!?!" Eren shouts as he tries to move past Mikasa, but he can't. He instead gets grabbed by her and she starts carrying him out of here. "H-HEY! MIKASA! Put me down!"

"YEAH, MIKASA! PUT HIM DOWN! Let me beat the ABSOLUTE SHIT OUT OF HIM!" I lost it completely. I can't get a hold of myself. 

"Leo! Calm down!" Reiner says as he pushes me even harder onto the wall. Meanwhile, Mikasa makes it outside with Eren and she closes the door. And I get tired of the people holding me. I headbutt Reiner and punch Marco. They both fall to the ground and everyone stares at me, not knowing what I will do. Even I don't know what I will do. All I know is that Eren pissed me off big time. I take a look around while taking deep breaths. Everyone is looking at me. Some in complete shock, some in complete fear, but one of them is just surprised. That one person is Annie. I stare at her while I walk backwards. I'm on the edge of crying. I put my back against the wall and I slowly sit down in a fetal position. I take another look at Armin who slowly kneels down next to me. He is scared, I can tell.

"Leo?" He asks carefully as he slowly puts his hand on my shoulder but I shrug it away.

 

_**Present day - Graduation Ceremony** _

"Now, we are going to name the ten cadets who ranked the best from the 104th Cadet Corps!" The instructor says and now it's time. The moment we all have been waiting for. Now we get to see, who will earn the privilage to join the MP. "The ones we mention are ordered to step out of the line and stand in front of us in one line, in order! We start from number ten!" I take a deep breath and I get prepared. I take a look around and I see a couple people looking terrified. No wonder, since this moment will change our ways of thinking about our future forever. 

"Number ten: Sasha Blouse! Number nine: Connie Springer! Number eight: Marco Bodt! Number seven: Jean Kirstein! Number six: Eren Yeager! Number five: Annie Leonhardt! Number four: Bertholdt Hoover! Number three: Reiner Braun! Number two: Leo Syxton! Number one: Mikasa Ackerman!"

There we are. The top ten. And I'm rank number two. I walk next to Reiner with a smile on my face. But this smile is not that honest. I'm a bit disaPpointed, but most of all, angry. Because if there isn't that little gas incident a few months ago, I might have made it onto number one. But who knows, maybe not. Mikasa is pretty strong, to be honest. Almost like a war goddess.

"Give your hearts!" The instructor says, making us salute.

"Sir!" We all salute at the same time and I look with my eyes to the right to see the others's reactions. I don't see that much, though.

"As of this moment, you have three options open to you! Choose wisely!" 

_Now that can't be said for everyone._

"The Garrison! Who's job is to reinforce the walls! Next, the Survey Corps! Who ride out to fight the titans and regain the territory which was once ours! And finally, the Military Police! Maintaining law and order under orders from the royal king himself! Those eligible for the MPs have already been named! The rest of you, take a look!  _These_ are the top of your class!"

We, the top ten, are standing in front of everyone. Happy, proud and determined, to join the regiment we chose.

 

_**Some time later - Mess hall** _

"Alright! MP, here I come!" Connie celebrates after ranking number nine.

"Three square meals for life!" Sasha only cares about the food. Typical her.

"Cheers to that!" I join her toast however, since I like the girl. She's a good friend. She cheers me back with Connie and I can't help but smile. And this is a genuine one.

"How in god's name did I get ranked under Eren?" Jean rants under his breath.

"Oh, so what?" I say before putting my arms around him. "Don't be butthurt. And besides, it doesn't matter where you rank. The only thing that matters is that will you make it into the MP or not."

"Easy for you to say." Jean takes a sip from his drink. "You ranked number two."

"So? I don't care." I remove my arms from Jean's shoulder. "I wouldn't care if I ranked number ten."

"Yes, you would."

"No, I wouldn't"

"Yes you would."

"No! I--"

"Are you insane?!" Thomas's voice interrupts our little disagreement and the entire mess hall becomes quiet. Everyone looks at him in confusion. He is talking to Eren. No wonder he said that. "How many people have died? We are talking about the fifht of the population! If that doesn't paint the picture for you, I don't know what will. This is our life now. We can't beat them!"

Thomas finishes his monologue and I couldn't agree more. But there is one person who thinks otherwise.

"Yeah, so what?" Eren. "We should just, give up everything? Things have changed. Maybe not a hell of a lot, but enough. They aren't the mystery they were five years ago. There is still a long way to go, but we've made progress. Every battle we lost taught us a lesson. Gave us a tiny bit of hope. You tell me it's better to cut our loses?! Let all the death and destruction to be meaningless?! Just stay quiet and accept it?! No way! Humanity's future us lays outside the walls, and I'm gonna clear the way! I'm gonna take back what's ours! I'll drive them all out! And as long as at least one of us can say that, we're not done!"

Eren's speech makes everyone in the hall quiet. Everyone is quiet, but I can't help but laugh at this pathetic attempt at giving motivation. I put my hand on my mouth to muffle my laughter and then I see Eren running out of the hall. And I swear I saw a tear leaving his eye.

"Eren, wait!" Armin says as he runs after him with Mikasa. After all three of them ran out, I move my hand and let out the laugh I was holding back. Everyone now looks at me, the same way they looked at Eren.

"What's so funny, Leo?" Reiner asks me and I just lift my bottle up.

"If one of you thinks this suicidal bastard is right, you need to get your head checked!" I make sure everyone hears me. If Eren said his piece, it's time for me to say it. "He thinks we made progress! Yeah, we did, so what?! The outcome is still the same! Until we don't get back the territory of Wall Maria, we made no progress. Because that's what it's all about. And don't even get me started on the Armored and Colossal Titan!" After I mention those two titans, a lot of people's expression change. "Yeah, a lot of you forgot about them, I see. Just like Eren! I bet that the first titan he sees, will devour him! Because that suicidal bastard is out of his mind! And I'll make sure that I will be the first person to attend his funeral, just so I can say to his grave: I. Told you!"

I finish my monologue and I decide to walk out of the mess hall and go to sleep. No one says a thing.

 

_**The next day** _

I decide to take a look at the Survey Corps as they are getting ready to head out for and expedition. I'm just in time to see the Commander pass by, and there is a familiar face behind him. Hanji Zoe. The soldier who pretended to be nurse after I woke up in the hospital after the Shiganshina incident.

"Hey, look! The main unit of the Survey Corps!" One man yells out.

"That's right, Commander Erwin! Teach those titans a lesson!" I have never seen the Survey Corps get this much support in a long time.

"Look! It's Captain Levi!" One man yells out and I do notice him riding next to Hanji. I heard quite a lot about him. "They he is as strong as an entire brigade!"

"Yeah, I believe it when I see it!" I don't believe all that hype behind him, though. And I make sure he hears what I want to say.

"What?! How dare you question the Captain's strength?!" One man from the crowd asks me and Levi and I meet each other's gaze. He looks at me with his cold eyes, but doesn't look interested at all. 

"Shut up, old man!" I look at the man who yelled at me. "You are not even a soldier!" 

And after that, I walk away.

 

_**Some time later** _

I'm sitting at a table with Reiner, Ymir and Krista. They are talking about something, but I can't help but just stare at Armin, who is sitting with Mikasa on the other side of the road. To this moment, I can't believe he is joining Eren. And when Connie and Thomas told me they join the Survey Corps too, I became infuriated. The guy, who's goal was the MP, has the chance to join the MP, but doesn't. That's bullshit.

"Hey, Leo!" Ymir says, making me look away from Armin at her.

"What?" I ask, a bit annoyed. I don't like when Ymir wants to say something to me. I really don't.

"What are you staring at?" She knows damn well what I'm staring at. Or more like, who. The smirk she gives me says it all. I just roll my eyes and drink from my water. "Oh what? You are not talking to me?"

"Why do you care?" I shoot back instantly and she laughs at me.

"C'mon. With all this happening with you, I may as well call you Gayxton." Ymir is walking on a very thin line here. I've had enough and I throw my water into her face.

"Leo! Why did you do that for?!" Krista says as she grabs Ymir who almost falls out of her chair and Reiner is just laughing.

"Oh. Did I touch a nerve?" Ymir teases more as she wipes away the water from her face. I hold my hand up to signal that I don't care what she has to say. "Oh, what? You aren't even going to say something, Gayxton?"

"Shut it, lesbo!" It slips out. The one thing I kept secret. Now she knows. And he looks just as surprised as I hoped her to be. But even Krista's face is priceless.

"Wh-what?" Ymir asks, and now, she doesn't sound that confident.

"That's right. I have a trump card of my own." I tease as I take a sip from Reiner's drink. "And I just showed it to you."

"Wait. What's going on here?" Reiner thankfully doesn't understand what's going on.

"Nothing!" The girls and I say at the same time, making Reiner even more confused. Some times passes before I decide to speak again. Awkward tension between the two girls and me in the meantime.

"I can't believe Connie and Thomas are joining the scouts." I say before I drink again from Reiner's glass.

"Yeah, that's pretty bad." Reiner says before taking the glass out of my hands.

"Please tell me the others won't follow them." I beg to Reiner, who just raises his eyebrow.

"Well, I won't." I sigh in relief. "I don't think Bertholdt will. I don't know about Sasha, Marco won't, Jean won't. And I'm pretty sure Annie won't either." Reiner drinks again. "Mikasa might though."

"Yeah, I figured." I rest my head in my hand. "And what about you two?" I ask Krista and Ymir. "What do you futures look like."

"I personally don't know." Ymir says after a few moments of thinking. And by that, I mean staring at Krista. "I might try the Garrison, but... who knows."

Krista doesn't look that confident with her answer.

"I uh... I... don't know." She says. "I thought I would make the top ten, but now. I don't know."

"Aha." I nod but then I look at Reiner, who is staring at Krista in a weird way. I've never seen him stare at her like that. That look concerns me a bit. "Well... I'm..." I try to talk while still looking at Reiner, but then I just shake my head and look at the girls. "...really surprised you two didn't make the top ten. Especially you, Ymir." Ymir just shrugs. "But, if I may give you an advice for your future careers, I recommend joining the Garrison."

"Oh, thank you." Ymir gives me a sarcastic smile but I give her an honest one.

But, all of a sudden, we hear a thunderbolt and the ground shakes. We all fall to the ground. I manage to avoid hitting my head on the table on my way down, but I know damn well, what this was. I'm shaking as I stare at the ground and then slowly look at the to of the wall, to see the Colossal Titan. I gasp in fear as I stare at the titan's face. Then, it kicks the gate, creating a huge blast, making the air knocking everything back around us. Thankfully, the barriers stop the debris, but I get knocked back by the wind. I grab the side of a house to prevent myself flying away. Some are not that lucky. Like Armin. He gets knocked away, but I manage to grab him. As the wind calms down, we fall to the ground.

"Are you okay?" I ask him as I lean over him.

"Yes." He nods. "Thank you."

I smile at him but that fades away, when I look at the gate. Or what's left of it.

"Oh no." I say as I step back once, mostly controlled by fear.

"Armin!" I hear Mikasa calling out her friend's name. 

"Mikasa!" Armin says as Mikasa makes her way to us.

"Leo!" Mikasa calls out to me, as I clearly stunned by the state of the gate. "Get a hold of yourself!"

She shakes me and that knocks me back. I look at her and she nods at me. I nod back and I help Armin up.

"Cadets!" Someone calls out for us. "Don't just stand around! Go to HQ and wait for further orders! Get ready for battle!"

Those are the four words I didn't want to hear. I was just one day away from the MP, and this happens. This is a really bad joke.

"Come on, Leo!" Reiner shouts. "Let's go!"

"I know, I know, I... FUCKING KNOW!" I get a bit angry as I stare at the Colossal Titan, who is releasing a huge cloud of steam right now. And when I look through the hole in the gate, I can see already a few titans in the distance. They are not close, but a few minutes later, they will be.

 

_**Twenty minutes later - HQ** _

Everyone made it into HQ. I get a functional gear, adjust my gloves, which I got permission to wear, and I'm on my way to outside, but I get stopped by Eren's voice.

"Armin!" I look to the left and I see Mikasa looking at Eren and Armin. The two boys are crouching and it looks like Eren is comforting Armin. "Calm down! You are focused on the past! Look ahead! We are not going to be the victims anymore!"

"Leo! Get a move on!" Reiner shouts after me and Mikasa looks at me. I just shake my head at her, showing her what I think about what Eren said. After a few minutes, we are lined up, and waiting for orders.

"Just like in training, split up into individual squads! You will be under Garrison command!" A high ranked officer from the Garrison informs us about the situation. "Your duties are to assist in providing supplies, communications, and sweeping up the titans! The first line of defense will be the vanguard! Cadets will be taking the middle guard, led by a support squad! The rear guard will go to the elites! I expect all of you to man your posts, knowing that the advance team has been wiped out!" That information makes everyone gasp. That is not good. At all. "That's right! The outer gate is history! The titans are in! This means, the Armored Titan is likely to reappear! If and when he does, the inner gate will also be history!"

This surprises me a bit more than it should. I didn't think that after everything humanity supposedly improved upon, we still are going to lose this town. My home town.

"Is this real?"

"Please be a dream."

"God. What if those bastards manage to bust through Wall Rose?"

"QUIET!" This isn't going to end well for us. "The vanguard is already in battle! Now, with the titans roaming in the city, this operation now has one single goal: Defend the inner gate until the evacuation is done!" 

"Hah. It seems like they couldn't lift that giant boulder they were talking about after all." I whisper, mostly to myself.

"Now, be aware all of you that desertion is punishable by execution!" That makes me gasp and clench my fist. "If it comes to it, lay down your lives! Dismissed!"

"Sir!" Everyone salutes and runs to their position, except me. I'm still standing there, angry and feeling betrayed. We are being sent out there to die.

"Got a problem, cadet?!" The man asks and I bet he won't even be in the battle.

"Where do you want me to start?" I ask as I turn around and I walk up to Jean, Bertholdt, Krista and Daz. Jean is crouching and holding his head, while Daz is throwing up with  Krista comforting him.

"Leo." Bertholdt says as I walk up to him. "How you holding up?"

"What do you think?!" I get angry at his question. "We are practically being sent out to die! What do you expect?!"

"Alright. Sorry for asking." He says as he rolls his eyes.

 

_**Ten minutes later** _

"What do you see, Leo?!" Marco asks me while I climbed up the cross on top of the church to get a better view of the situation. And I don't like what I'm seeing.

"Not good! Titans! Everywhere!" I briefly answer Marco's question and I make my way down to the others. I'm in squad nineteen with Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt, with Marco being the squad leader. "The vanguard is in deep trouble if the titans made it this far."

"Yeah, no kidding." Reiner says as he stares into the distance.

"So, what now?" Annie asks us. She does this rarely.

"We have to wait for someone to tell us if the vanguard needs support." Marco answers Annie's question.

"I see." Annie says. "What's wrong, Leo?"

"Huh, what?" I look at Annie, who noticed me looking a bit scared. "Uh, nothing."

"Don't worry, Leo." Reiner lightly slaps me in the back. "After all, we were trained for this."

"Yeah, I know. But that doesn't mean I want to fight the titans!" I'm a little annoyed, and scared, and the one thing I want to do right now, is to get out of here. 

"Calm down, buddy. We got this, heh? Heh?" Reiner jokes around with holding his fist up for a fist pump. I look at the others and Annie just shrugs and Marco nods at me.

"He's right." Bertholdt says. "We are in this together."

I look at Reiner, who smiles at me, still holding his fist out. I look at it, sigh and laugh.

"Okay. Okay." I look at Reiner once again before eventually giving him a fist pump. "Let's do this, pal."

"Squad nineteen, move out! The vanguard needs assistance!" One person from the Garrison gives us the order we've all been waiting for. 

"Alright, Marco!" I say, with a little enthusiasm this time. "Lead us!"

He nods at me and we all start going to support the vanguard. I follow my squad a little far behind, to make sure I get a good view of where we are going exactly. But when we turn a corner, we run into something I wanted to avoid in the past five years of my life: a titan. It is even looking at us, so we can't even catch it by surprise.

"Look out!" Marco yells out. "Evasive maneuvers!"

Everyone reacts, except me. I'm too shocked to do anything. I start to get flashbacks of that one titan that nearly killed me in Shiganshina.

"LEO!" Bertholdt's voice however knocks me back into reality.

I need to react fast if I don't want to be eaten. In the fraction of a second, I decide to pull my breaks and bounce backwards. I return my anchors and when I get back, while screaming a little, I shoot them out again at the same time. I frontflip once to get myself into a better position and the titan is entirely focused on me. That gives Annie the chance to kill it, which she does. The titan gets its nape cut, and it falls down.

"Good one, Leo!" Reiner says as he moves past me. "Was that your plan all along?!"

"Uhhh... of... course! Why would you think something else?!" I laugh a bit uneasily, since this wasn't really my plan. I was just too scared to move away from the titan completely.

I join up with the others and we decide to land on a rooftop to look around. But then, we hear someone screaming at the top of his lungs. 

"Who could that be?" Marco asks and I think I recognize that voice. My eyes widen in shock when I realize who that is.

"It's Armin!" I yell out to the others and they all look at me. And the thought of Armin getting eaten terrifies me.

"Are you sure?" Reiner asks, but I just gape in shock at the direction of the scream.

"I don't think, Leo." Annie says.

"It could be- Hey!" Reiner doesn't have the time to say his part because, without any hesitation, I jump off the rooftop to save Armin.

"Leo!" Marco yells after me.

"Wait! Stay with us!" Bertholdt too but I don't pay attention to them. "Look out, Reiner! An abnormal!

"Titans! Take cover!"

I don't care about anything right now. Even after Armin told me that he will join the Survey Corps, I'll be damned if I let him die. I have a chance to save him, and I will take it. I turn the corner and I see a titan with a big white beard standing in front of Armin, reaching for him. I feel my blood boil again, the same way it does when I snap. It's happening again.

"GET. AWAY FROM HIM!" I yell at the titan before cutting his hands away from Armin. Armin doesn't move a muscle. He is too scared. But I on the other hand, don't feel any fear. I feel like I snapped, but not completely. I see the titan leaning down for some reason. Like it's presenting its nape for me. "Got you!"

I shoot my anchor at its nape and I'm ready to kill it, but then all of a sudden, it looks up and something bursts out of its mouth, knocking me onto the rooftops on the opposite side. I land on the edge hard, hitting my head in the process. The gear even falls off of me. But when I reach out to grab it, my leg slips and I start slipping down. I try to grab onto something, but I can't and I fall down on the ground, hitting several balconies along the way. The last thing I hear before I pass out is a loud and angry roar of a titan.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 14 preview: Pain... agony... fear... people dying in front of your very eyes. Suffering all that in a matter of seconds is never easy, let alone for a rookie like Leo. He, who never wanted to go through this again, has to stay alive at all cost. However, the one place that can provide him with enough gas to get out of the city is surroundered by titans. Getting there is one thing. Killing the titans inside is another. 
> 
> Chapter 14: The Supply Depot


	14. The Supply Depot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! The only thing I want to say is that the writing style has changed. It's not in first person anymore because I think it's better to have it in third person. It's a good thing that it took me fucking ten months to figure that one out.  
> But anyways, enjoy!

"Alright. Sorry for asking." Bertholdt says as he rolls his eyes.

Leo shakes his head and looks at Daz, who is throwing up out of fear, and Krista is comforting him. Jean walks off angrily and with his eyes closed he doesn't notice Eren in front of him and the two bump into each other. Jean opens his eyes and gets even angrier because Eren is the last person he wants to see.

"Get lost!" Jean shoves Eren away but Eren grabs his arm.

"What the hell, man? What's wrong with you?" At this point, Leo is in earshot and stops walking to look at the two boys.

"What kind of question is that?!" Jean replies to Eren. "We are all about to be titan food. Do you expect me to sing you a happy little song?!" Jean grabs Eren by his shirt and Eren gets a bit annoyed by what Jean is saying. Mikasa hears Jean shouting and turns around to see him grabbing Eren. She makes her way to them. "You're loving this, aren't you, you little psycho?! Of course you are! You're one life goal is to get eaten! I was one day shy of shipping off to the MP!"

"Jean, get a hold o--"

"No! Not all of us are suicidal!" Mikasa walks closer and Leo gets annoyed by them. He starts walking towards them but then Eren has enough.

"Dammit, shut up for a sec!" He grabs Jean and pins him against a pillar. "We were trained for this! What do you think the last three years were about?!" This statement makes Jean gasp a little in shock. "We survived! We stared death in the face and we lived! Not everyone can say that, can't they?! Some people couldn't take it and either ran or were thrown out! Hell, some people actually  _died,_ but not us!" This makes Leo gulp a little as he gets a horrible memory back and Jean just gapes at Eren, not knowing what to say. "Am I right?! We powered through for three years, what's one more day?! You can do this Jean, alright? The MP will still be waiting for you tomorrow!"

 Eren finishes his speech and lets go of Jean. Jean just grunts and curses under his breath.

"On your feet, Daz! Stop whining!" Jean yells and Daz slowly looks up.

"O-okay." He replies, although he doesn't feel any better.

'If I remember correctly, there were no actual titans in those three years.' Leo thinks, implying that Eren thinks this situation is the same as training. It's not. Leo quickly walks away from everyone to meet up with his squad and he walks by the man he was saved by in Shiganshina: Ian Dietrich. Leo doesn't notice him though, but Ian does look at Leo with a curious look. Leo seems familiar to him, but right now, he doesn't want to think about that. He shakes his head and then turns his attention to Mikasa and Eren,

"Ackerman." He says. He wants Mikasa to assist the elites in the rear guard.

On his way to his squad, Leo meets up with Thomas and Mina.

"Hey, Leo." Thomas says as he approaches his friend.

"Hey." Leo replies back. He doesn't feel too good around Thomas right now. Not after what Thomas told him.

"Crazy, huh? What do you think is going to happen out there?" Thomas asks the question that was asked by a dozen cadets already.

"I don't know, Thomas. I don't know." Leo says and there is an awkward silence between the two. Even Mina notices that they are not on the best terms right now.

"Look, Leo. Abou the Survey Corps, I--"

"Save it, Thomas." Leo cuts Thomas off as he is trying to explain his decision. "Your life, your choice. Who am I to tell you what to do?" 

Leo is quite angered by Thomas' decision, but he knows that this isn't the right time to talk about that. Thomas opens his mouth to say something but then decides not to. He looks slightly down and scratches the back of his head.

"Leo!" Reiner's voice breaks the silence. The group of three look at the direction of the sound and they see Reiner waving to Leo to get a move on. Leo takes one last look at Thomas and then starts walking towards Reiner but then is stopped by Mina.

"Leo. I... I just want to say..." Mina stutters, not knowing if she should confess to Leo or not. Leo raises his eyebrow but then quickly notices what's going on after he sees Mina blush in embarrassment. "I--"

"M-Mina, look." Leo cuts her off. Mina looks up at him, not knowing what to expect. "This isn't the time, nor the place for this. We talk after everything is settled down, okay?" Leo finishes talking to her and then looks at Thomas. "Be safe out there, alright?"

Thomas takes a deep breath and sighs while nodding to Leo. Leo nods back before looking at Mina again. He pats her on the shoulder and leaves them. Mina doesn't know what to think. She was always worried about Leo knowing about her crush on him, but now, it seems obvious to her that he knows it already. But sadly, this is the last time Mina and Leo saw each other. 

 

All of a sudden, it's raining. And right now, it's useful for only one thing: cleaning the blood off the streets and rooftops all across the city of Trost. This battle is not going good for the humans. The titans have overwhelmed the vanguard in seconds and the middle guard is pinned down. HQ is surrounded and the supply depot is in titans hands. The cadets assigned there can't give the others supplies to get out of the city. A lot of good people died today, and some of them are getting eaten at this very moment. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, the titans are too strong. Everyone, just as Leo predicted, underestimated them. And Leo? He is woken up by the rain dropping onto his face. He slowly and hardly opens his eyes. He groans as he regains consciousness.

"What... was that...?" He hit his head pretty badly and he is bleeding all over the ground. He tries to stand up but he doesn't have strength in his legs yet, so he just leans onto the wall of the building next to him and he sits down to recollect himself. "A fucking hand... came out... and... shit..." He wipes his face to clean off his own blood. "Fucking abnormals." There is a wound right next to his right eye. He is lucky he didn't get his eye poked out. Leo hisses as he touches the wound. It's pretty deep and it should be looked at by a medic. "That hurt. But... it shouldn't be a problem." Of course, Leo doesn't think that way. He sighs as he reaches into his pocket and takes out a tissue. This is the only thing he has that can do something about the blood. He carefully puts the tissue on the wound and keeps it there as he stands up. "Now... where to?" Leo wonders but then realizes why he ended up here. "Armin." His eyes widen at the sudden realization and he is about to shout his name, but then changes his mind. Yelling while there are titans around is not a good idea, especially when you are without an ODM-Gear. "I hope you're okay." Leo looks up at the rooftop he fell from. That's where his gear is. "Well, I guess I could climb back up to it, but..." Leo checks the building he would have to climb to get to his gear. "The rain probably made it slippery. It's too risky." Leo sighs in disappointment and he looks up at the other building, where Armin was sitting. He can't see anyone. "Damn."

Leo removes his tissue from his wound as it is soaking from the rainwater and now it's completely useless. He throws it on the ground and a loud thunder makes it's presence known. Leo flinches a little at the sound. He walks forward as he looks at the two bodies lying on the road in front of him. He slows down the closer he gets to them and gulps once. He feels like he's gonna throw up. He then looks at his right to see a severed arm lying alone on the ground. He makes a disgusted face at the sight, but he would look at the hand in a much different way, if he knew who it belongs to.

'I need to get a gear. Fast.' Leo thinks and he quickly walks up to the first body. This male soldier is missing his legs and one arm. His face is bloody, but his face is recognizable. Leo doesn't know this person. And the only important thing  His gear is still intact somehow.

"This is... unreal..." Leo is feeling sick as he removes the gear slowly and tries out the triggers before putting them on. But the triggers don't work. The gear is useless. "Fuck it." Leo angrily throws it away but then he hears loud footsteps. His eyes widen and his whole body starts shaking in fear. He slowly looks behind him and then he sees a titan turning the corner, and coming right after him. "Shit. Shit!"

He stares at the titan which is walking in a slow pace, and if Leo doesn't hurry up, he will die here. He shakes his head to bring himself back and he rushes to the other body. Leo tries to unhook the gear from the belt, but it's stuck.

'Come on!' Leo is trying with all of his strength, but he can't get the gear off. He hears the footsteps getting closer, so he looks back at the titan. It's not far now.

"Come on, come on!" Leo begins panicking and he doesn't notice that the titan is right behind him. He tries shaking the gear off, but it's no use. "Wait. The knife!"

Leo luckily remembers the knife he brought with him. He turns around to remove it from his leg, so he can cut the gear off the corpse, but then stops when he sees a giant pair of legs in front of him. He starts shaking in fear and slowly looks up to meet the titan's gaze. It reminds him of that titan he saw in Shiganshina.

'What's happening? Why can't I move?' Leo lets out a half gasp as the air gets stuck in his throat. He is in total shock. He's completely paralyzed and there is no chance of him getting away in this state. The titan bends over and reaches for him and Leo doesn't move a muscle. Leo stares at the titan with a horrified face before shaking his head and bringing himself back to his senses. But it's already too late. He tries to run away but the titan grabs him.

"H-HELP! So-- SOMEONE!" Leo screams out for help, but it doesn't look like anyone hears him. He tries punching the titan's hand, but it's hopeless. "HELP! SOMEONE, PLEASE!"

Leo screams as the titan puts him between it's teeth. All it needs to do is just close them, and Leo is bitten in half. But when it's just about to kill Leo, someone shoots their anchors onto its nape and cuts it in one clean motion. Leo gasps as the titan lets go of him and they both fall down. The titan crashes hard on the ground and Leo lands badly on his side. He slowly gets on all fours and the person who saved him lands in front of him. He looks up to see who it is and the sight brings joy to his eyes.

"Leo, are you okay?" It's Mikasa. When she was done with helping the civilians, she came to assist the middle guard, for Leo's luck.

"M-Mikasa?" Leo gapes at her as she walks to him. "Oh my god, thank you!" He is still under shock as he wraps his arms around Mikasa's waist. "Thank you! Thank you! I thought this was it for me!" Leo is almost crying and Mikasa doesn't understand why Leo is acting this way. She didn't think Leo is this much of a wimp. Leo buries his face in Mikasa's body as she starts to feel a little uncomfortable. "Without you, I would be dead! I owe you my whole life!" 

'This is pathetic.' Mikasa thinks as she grabs Leo by his head and slaps him. This makes Leo stop talking and he just stares at the ground while holding his face.

"Get a hold of yourself, okay? You are better than this." Mikasa says and she starts walking around to see if any titans are in the area.

"T-thanks, Mikasa..." Leo says as he rubs the spot where Mikasa slapped him. "I sounded like a wimp." He looks at Mikasa but she doesn't say a damn thing. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"The evacuation is over. All civilians made it out alive." She replies and that makes Leo feel a bit relieved. "Then I thought I would support the middle guard."

"Well, I'm... glad you did." Leo groans as he stands up. He walks to the dead corpse but before he crouches down to get the gear, he gets an idea. "Hey, Mikasa." He says and she turns around with a curious look. "Um, can you... get on top of that rooftop and get my gear? I bet there's a lot of gas in it still."

"Okay." She says after a few seconds and she quickly goes up and retrieves the gear while Leo sighs. He is very lucky, unlike a lot of other people. Mikasa gets back and gives him his gear, but there is one problem. "The gas tanks are holey."

Leo's jaw drops at what Mikasa just said. He looks at the gas tanks and both of them have one big hole in them.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Leo says before lowering the tanks and shaking his head. "Just my luck." He looks at the corpse and goes up to it after letting out a deep breath. "I guess I just use this fellow's gases." He kneels down and replaces the broken tanks with the newer ones. He knocks on them to check how much gas there is in them. "Shit. Not much." He scoffs and grabs the handles to check if the triggers are still working. He shoots both anchors on the buildings opposite to each other. "Nothing wrong there."

"Are you done?" Mikasa asks and she is ready to head out. She needs to know how Eren is doing.

"Yep. I am." Leo replies. "I don't have much gas, though. I have to get some from the supply team from HQ."

"That's not possible." Mikasa says and Leo raises an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"HQ is surrounded by titans. Probably that's why no one has evacuated yet. No one has any gas to do so." Leo gapes at Mikasa and he doesn't understand how that happened.

"So, we are fucked, then?" He analyzes the situation, not in a very appropriate way. 

"Yeah. Pretty much." She answers and Leo walks next to her and there is something that she doesn't quite get. "How did you get separated from your squad?"

When she asks that, Leo suddenly remembers Armin's horrifying scream and it makes Leo shiver. Mikasa notices it right away. "Leo?"

"That's... well..." Leo tries his best to figure out how to say it without scaring Mikasa. "You are... not going to like what I'm going to say."

Mikasa's eyes widen as she doesn't understand why Leo says that.

"Why? What happened?" She says as the rain starts to lighten a bit.

"I... heard Armin screaming." Leo says in a quiet voice. Mikasa starts to feel a bit scared but she tries her best not to show it to Leo. "Then, when I came here, I saw him... sitting on that rooftop." Leo continues and telling that to Mikasa makes him feel even more terrible and scared. Mikasa turns to that rooftop Leo is talking about and she remembers that she didn't see anyone up there earlier. "And then, when the titan was reaching for him, I hit it's hand away and I was ready to kill it. The next thing I see, is a hand, coming out of it's mouth, punching me away."

"Wait. A hand?" Mikasa asks back, while in the back of her mind, she is still processing the fact that Leo heard Armin screaming. 

"Yes. Then, the last thing I hear is a titan roaring. Then I woke up with rain dropping on my face. Then, you know the rest." Leo finishes talking and he notices that Mikasa is thinking hard about what he said. "Mikasa?"

"And, what happened to Armin? Or Eren? Did you see him?" She asks and sounds a little desperate. Leo hesitates a little, because he knows that he doesn't have the answers she wants to hear.

"Uhhh... no. I didn't." He replies while looking at the ground. "I didn't see anyone. And I have no idea where Armin is."

Mikasa and Leo both feel the same way, for different reasons. Mikasa is concerned over Eren and Armin's safety, and Leo is concerned over Thomas and Mina, but mainly on Armin, too. They stand around in silence and even the rain stops. 

"Do you think they're..." Mikasa carefully tries to ask Leo the question but Leo holds his hand up.

"No, I don't. They are strong, Mikasa. Even though I hate Eren, I don't doubt his skills." Leo tries to calm Mikasa down by not saying the truth. He is in denial for Mikasa's sake. They were just too many titans around for Armin to be on his own there. A tear is about to leave Leo's eye, but then Mikasa speaks up.

"Then let's find the others." She says and quickly flies away. It takes Leo a few seconds to go after her. He wants to think that his friends survived, but he is prepared to get bad news. Or he thinks he is.

'Armin, Thomas, Mina. Please be alive. I don't know what will happen if I lose any of you.' Leo stares mostly at Mikasa while they are flying through the air. 'There is no way Eren survived. With the hair trigger temper he has... I'm sorry, Mikasa. Even though I hate Eren, you are still a good friend. And I don't want to see you being sad. But then again, I don't even think you are able to feel sadness, based on how unemotional you are.'

They fly around for a few minutes, when Leo eventually spots a group of people on multiple rooftops. 

"Mikasa! Look, on the left!" Leo informs Mikasa about what he sees. They take a turn and make their way to the remaining cadets who are stuck with not enough gas to get over the wall. Mikasa rushers forward and Leo falls behind a bit. Thankfully there are no titans around. Mikasa lands on of the rooftops and Leo follows. 

"Mikasa! Weren't you with the rear guard?!" One of the cadets asks Mikasa as she rushes over to Annie.

"Annie!" Mikasa calls out to Annie to get to know about Eren's situation. "I know how bad things have gotten. And I apologize for sounding selfish, but have you seen Eren's squad?"

Mikasa tries to hide her desperation, but not doing a really good job at it.

"Some squads made it back." Annie answers immediately. "But I don't know about Eren's."

"We found Armin, he's over there." Reiner says and points at Armin. Mikasa sees him sitting down alone and runs to him.

"Reiner!" Leo finds his squad mates.

"Leo!" Marco calls out, being happy seeing his friend come back.

"Huh, the lost bird is here. With a pretty cut." Reiner says with a half smile. "Where were you?"

"Got knocked out, but that doesn't matter." Leo says as he rubs the wound on his head. "Have you seen Armin? Or, anyone from his squad?" Leo sounds a little desperate, just like Mikasa did. Reiner tips his head towards Armin and Mikasa, and Leo becomes relieved to see him alive. He runs to him immediately. "Armi--"

He gets cut off by Armin's face full of tears. Armin is a wreck, after losing his best friend. Leo opens his mouth but doesn't say anything yet. He looks at Mikasa and the look on her face says it all.

'No...' Leo is not ready for what Armin is going to say.

"They were..." Armin begins talking but immediately breaks down. "The cadets of Squad 34... Thomas Wagner, Nac Tias, Mylius Zeramuski, Mina Carolina... Eren Yeager..." Armin is fighting with his tears as hard as he can, and the mentioning of Eren makes Mikasa lose all of her emotions on the spot. And Leo just can't believe what he is hearing. "These brave five... upheld their duties. They died... heroically on the field of battle."

Armin finishes talking and both Leo and Mikasa are devasteted.

"No... no..." Leo stumbles and falls on his knees, while tears are leaving his eyes. Mikasa just blandly stares at Armin. 

"His whole  _squad_ was wiped out?"

"The same will happen to us if we try to take on those titans."

"I'm so sorry, Mikasa." Armin apologizes, even though it's not his fault. "It should have been me who died, not Eren. I... I couldn't do a thing. I'm worthless.

Armin continues to bash himself and now he lost it completely. Leo on the other hand, is in shock. He covers his face with his hands and tears are rolling down his cheeks.

"Armin." Mikasa kneels down in front of Armin and grabs his arm. He looks up to see her in an awful state. "Calm down. We haven't got time for you to get emotional right now." Her eyes are lacking any emotion. The lights are gone, complete darkness. She has given up on the inside. Armin is caught off guard by her reaction. "Get up." She helps Armin up, who just gapes at her, not understanding why she doesn't say something. He always thought she would break down if Eren died, just like him. "You, too, Leo." Mikasa grabs Leo by his arm and drags him up. Even he is confused. "Marco. If we eliminate, or bypass the titans at HQ, we can refuel our gear, allowing ourselves over the wall. Is that correct?"

"Well, yeah, sure." Marco hesitantly answers. "But there's too many of them. Even with you on point."

"I can do it." Mikasa shoots back instantly when she stops at the edge of the rooftop, surprising everybody. "I'm strong, real strong. None of you come close. You hear me? I am a warrior. Know this: I have the power to slay all of the titans that block our path. Even if I have to do it alone." Everyone just stares at Mikasa in confusion. "As far as I'm concerned, you are all nothing but cowards." She then points her blade at the other cadets. "You dissapoint me. Feel free to sit back and watch. That's all you have to do."

"Wait, what the hell are you saying?!"

"Are you really going to take on  _that_ many titans?!"

"There's no way you will be able to beat them!" The cadets are trying to talk Mikasa out of her suicide mission.

"If I can't, then I die." But it's no use. "But, if I win, I live." She then turns around and she is ready to leave. "And the only way to live is to fight."

She finishes her speech and then flies off on her own while everyone else just watches her leave. Leo, along with everyone else, doesn't understand what's going on with her. But then, after a little bit of thinking, he realizes.

"So... Eren's dead, and you want to throw your life away." He concludes this might be the only explanation. "Well, I'm not losing another friend. The hell with that." He draws his left blade with his left hand, holding it incorrectly up in the air. "Hey! I don't remember us being thaught to let our comrades fight alone!"

Leo's words surprises a lot of his friends, and luckily, there is someone who agrees with him.

"He's right!" It's Jean. "If you stay here, then you will become real cowards!"

Leo cracks a half smile at Jean as he runs ahead with Connie to follow Mikasa.

"You two are the ones I least expected this from." Reiner says to Leo and begins to walk away with Annie and Bertholdt. Marco sighs as he puts his hand on his face, and eventually goes after his squad. 

"You ready?" Leo turns to Armin and he sees him still crying a bit. Armin just nods as he tries to wipe his tears away. Leo feels sorry for him, so he goes up to him and wipes Armin's tears away with his sleeve. "We don't have time to mourn over our friends' deaths, Armin."

Leo uses a calm voice. The way he talks to him makes Armin feel much better. 

"Leo! Armin! Hurry up!" One of the cadets yell out to them. Everyone else has started to go after Mikasa. They don't want to be called cowards. Leo turns his head to look at them but stops at halfway to look back at Armin.

"Stay close to me. Please." Leo says to him and Armin mouth slightly opens in surprise by this.

'Leo...' He doesn't say anything as Leo gently pulls him by his hand. Leo keeps staring at him while pulling Armin with him. When Armin draws his blade, that's when Leo smiles lightly at him and lets go of his hand. He jumps off the rooftop, throws his blade into his right hand, this time holding it correctly and shoots his anchor out. It takes them a few seconds to catch up to the others.

"Hurry up! Follow Mikasa!" Jean orders the others.

"Yeah! And don't even try to battle the titans!" Leo shouts some orders, too. "Just make sure you get to HQ! If you run out of gas, that's it for you! So use it sparingly!"

Mikasa, emotionless and not caring what lies ahead, cuts through the titans like knife through bread. The other cadets can just barely keep up.

"Wow, Mikasa's a badass!" Connie is certainly amazed by her. "How is she going so fast?!"

"Huh?" Leo wonders quietly to himself and then looks up to Mikasa. His eyes widen in terror at what he sees. "Mikasa is using too much gas..."

"Did you say something, Leo?!" Jean asks as he flies ahead of Leo. "Repeat that!"

"I said she is-- Look out!" Leo notices a group of titans appearing out of nowhere. Everyone gets out of the way, but he is not that lucky. One of them yanks his wire and he bounces backwards and through a window of a building.

"Leo!" Reiner yells after him but is unable to aid him. There are too many titans around him. He has no choice but to leave him behind. "Whatever. He is in a building anyway."

Meanwhile, Mikasa runs out of her gas and starts falling down.

"Mikasa!" Armin yells after her and rushes to save her. Just like Leo, he knew this might happen.

"Damn!" Jean curses as he sees Mikasa fall down.

"Jean! You lead the rest to HQ!" Connie shouts. "I'm going after Armin!"

"I'll go with you!" Jean shouts back.

"Don't be stupid!" Connie objects. "There are still titans everywhere! You've gotta help the others!"

Connie leaves and everyone is under Jean's command. But he has a solution.

"Leo! Where are you?!" He didn't notice him getting yanked into the building. "Leo?!"

"Forget about him! He is way behind!" Reiner yells and Jean gapes in terror as he knows he is not fit for this. But he has no choice. He has to take the responsibility.

Leo lies on the ground as he realizes what happened. He tries to get up but his legs are giving out again. He groans as he falls backwards and hits the wall behind him. He sits down to catch his breath.

"Just my luck, as always." He says and he takes a look at his gear. It doesn't look damaged. "Hope it still works..." Then all of a sudden, he hears footsteps being really close to him. He looks up and sees a titan staring at him through the window. He doesn't get too scared though. "What are you staring at?"

He doesn't expect the titan to answer back, but he asked that question anyway. He lowers his hands and loosens himself up a bit. It's not the best time to think about Mina and Thomas, but he does it anyway. Precisely, he remembers back the last time he saw them. Especially what he said to Mina.

_"This isn't the time, nor the place for this."_

The memory almost makes him have a meltdown. He doesn't cry though. He accepted the fact that he will never see them again. This is one of his traits he loves the most about himself. He adapts very quickly. He stays like that for a good minute.

"I'm sorry, Mina. I'm so sorry." Leo knew all along that Mina had a crush on him, but he didn't tell her that. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, since Leo had no interest in her. But sadly, that's all in the past, and will be forgotten by Leo probably in a matter of time. Leo stands up and looks the titan in its eyes. "Well, I just use the door."

He causally walks out of the room, goes downstairs, and slowly and carefully opens the door. Luckily it's unlocked. Leo pokes his head out and the titan is walking the other way. He mocks the titan with silly facial expressions and then cracks up while he flies away. He then finds the others while they are just standing around, watching the titans eat their comrades.

"Guys!" He shouts and it's Sasha who hears him first.

"Leo? You're alive?" She asks him as he approaches her.

"What's the hold up?" He doesn't notice what the titans are doing. Sasha slightly looks down then points at the titans. Leo looks at them and gasps at the sight. It's horrifying. At least four or five people are being eaten, and no one is doing a thing.

"Let's go!" But Jean breaks the silence and everyone looks at him surprised. "Make a break for HQ while they are distracted!"

He jumps down and runs forward. Leo and Sasha look at each other and then everyone follows Jean. A lot of titans are in their way. One of them manages to grab Jean's leg but he gets out of it by cutting the titan's finger off. Leo finds himself in front of one, too. There is another one behind him. He can't go around the first one because he will get grabbed by the second one. So he decides to go through between the legs of the first one and slingshot himself over the second one. He is successful and cracks a cocky smile as he dodges another titan's hand, but that titan manages to grab someone who was behind him. He knows he doesn't have the time to save him so he keeps looking forward. Eventually, all of them make it into HQ through the windows. Leo lands and rolls on the floor. This seems to be his thing today. Rolling around. 

"Are you alright, guys?" Leo asks the people who survived. He gets positive feedback from some of them. He takes a look around to see who made it. But before he has enough time to notice that Armin, Mikasa and Connie are gone, he hears Jean talking to someone.

"Wait. You are the supply squad?" Jean noticed two people sitting under a desk. One of them is covered in blood. 

"Yes." The guy answers back and then Jean violently grabs him by his shirt and punches him in the face.

"Jean, stop!" Marco runs over to him and holds him down.

"Jean, what are you doing?!" Leo stands up and walks up to them.

"You cowards! You left us out there on our own!" Jean snaps at the two people. "People are dead because you didn't have the guts to do your jobs!" 

"The titans broke into the supply depot!" The girl leans over his lying friend with tears in her eyes. "There was nothing we could do!"

"It's your job to deal with it and back us up anyway!" Jean continues to yell but then Reiner hears a strange noise. He knows instantly what's going to happen.

"Hit the deck!" He yells out and suddenly, a giant hole is blown into the wall. Jean is the one left standing closest to it and he notices two titans peeking inside. 

"Son of a... There's too many people. They can smell us." He says and just stands there in complete shock as everyone freaks out and starts screaming and running further inside.

"Run! Run further in!"

"Where's Mikasa?!"

"She ran out of gas! Forget about her, she's dead!"

"Wait, what?" Leo asks as he is trying to break through the crowd to take Jean away from them. Jean doesn't move an inch. He's given up already. "Jean! Move!"

Leo finally breaks through the crowd and runs to Jean. But when he gets there, the two titans are hit away by something.

"What?!" Jean shouts as the two titans land on top of each other. And then, a titan is seen standing in front of them. This one  _punched_ the titans.

"Huh?" Leo doesn't understand what happened as the titan takes a deep breath and lets out a roar. And this roar makes Leo even more surprised. "Wait. This..."

"My god..." Jean is just as surprised as Leo is. But then, another window breaks and Mikasa, Connie and Armin come through it. "Uh... Mikasa, you're..."

"Armin?!" Leo shouts.

"Wow, close one. I was running on fumes." Connie says as he knocks on his empty gas tanks. "We made it here though. Barely, but we did."

"A-am I dreaming this or what?" Jean asks as he sees Mikasa in front of him, alive and well. Leo just stares at them, not knowing what's going on.

"You're a certified genius!" Connie shouts as he pats Armin on the back a bit too hard. "From now on, as far as I'm concerned, your word is law! Check it out! We found an abnormal that's got a bone to pick with it's own kind! And the best part, he couldn't care less about us!"

"What?!" Leo asks as the titan approaches one of its own.

"That's right! You heard me! This big beautiful s.o.b is our ticket out of here!" Connie informs everyone, sounding happier than ever.

"You mean like... fighting fire with fire?" Leo asks while still staring at the titan He even walks closer to the hole to get a better view.

"Listen to yourself, a titan is not gonna help us!" Jean doesn't agree with what Connie is saying. "You are out of your mind if you think this could work!"

"It  _is_ working." Mikasa speaks up, making Jean look at her surprised. "For whatever reason he is rampaging against them. Stand back and let him do it. Trust me, you'll see." The titan swings his fist and throws a huge punch that it makes even Leo flinch. Then it lets out a loud roar and Leo is now more than sure that he heard this roar before. "And besides, what choice do we have? Right now, that thing is our best chance at survival."

"But still, don't you think it will get taken out by the more titans?" Jean still has doubts, understandibly. "I mean, he his at a disadvantage against all of the dozen titans surrounding HQ."

Leo walks to the edge of the hole to get the best view he can at the action. He is amazed by what he sees. It fills him with hope, something he didn't feel for a long time. The titan, after it let out a huge roar, sets its attention on the titan behind it. It grabs its arm and drags it down, squashing two little ones beneath it.

"D-don't worry." Connie calms Jean down. "This one is a lot stronger than the others."

Connie is not wrong as the titan punches another big one away, knocking its head right off its shoulders. Then it punches and kicks two more little ones.

"Holy shit!" Leo yells as he watches them fly through the air. "That must've hurt."

"Come on guys, let's go!" Marco steps forward and insists on moving on while they can.

"Just a moment." Leo holds his hand up, not getting his eyes off the rampage the titan is causing. "This is fucking incredible." He can't help but laugh at the sight. "I can't believe this... I can't..."

Leo is amazed, catching the others off guard. At times like this, they would expect him to be a bit more scared, or something else. Not this.

"Are you okay, Leo?" Jean asks and Leo flinches at the titan stomping the hell out of a four meter tall titan.

"I... I'm..." Leo can't find the right way to express himself. He is the only one enjoying this one hundred percent.

"Hey, guys! Let's go!" All of a sudden, a familiar voice is heard from a distance. "There are titans in the supply depot. We have to get rid of them if we want to get out."

Leo's eyes slowly widen and his jaw slightly drops when he hears that man's voice.

"Holy fucking shit..." He whispers as he turns around to look at the person standing in the door. "Karl?!"

Karl is caught off guard by Leo's voice. He gasps when they meet each other's gaze.

"Leo?! Leo!" Karl realizes that his friend he got separated from three years ago, is standing right in front of him. Alive, and well.

"Holy shit!" They say at the same time before running up to and hugging each other.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Leo asks and he is so happy to see his old friend.

"Well, you know..." Karl says as him and Leo separate. "I picked the perfect day to pay you a visit. Hehe, just my luck."

"Seems like a lot of people are unlucky today, man." Leo doesn't realize that statement is a bit inappropriate in the way he used it. But his friends surely do. "It's great to see you again, buddy."

"Yeah, you too." Karl says as he pats Leo on the shoulder. "Jean."

Karl looks behind Leo and gives Jean a nod.

"Hey." Jean is not active in the choice of words. "Let's head inside now."

"Okay." Leo says before looking back at Karl. "Karl, do you have a blueprint for this place?"

"Um... yes, I guess." It takes a few seconds for Karl to come up with an answer. "Let's go to the lift. Maybe there is one."

"Alright." Leo says and then looks at the others. Leo gives them a light smile then they all silently walk to the lift as the titan is still rampaging outside. There, they see someone is already bringing the lift up and someone else tries to open a door with a key.

"Let's rest here. Until we figure out how to get the gas from down there." Jean says as he sits down on the ground, with the others following him. Everyone then removes their gears. A few seconds later, Karl does find a blueprint of the building. 

"Leo." He goes to Leo immediately. "I found a blueprint of the actual supply depot. Here."

"Thank you." Leo says after Karl hands him the huge scroll. "But this isn't for me." He states, making Karl a little confused. "Armin!"

Leo calls out to the blonde who is sitting with Mikasa. He walks up to him and rolls the scroll out in front of him. 

"What's this?" Armin asks as he takes a look at the paper.

"The layout of the supply depot." Leo says. Armin just looks up at him with a surprised face. Leo just gapes at him. "I want you to come up with a plan for us to retake the supply depot and get out of here."

Armin gulps a little and then looks at the blueprint then back at Leo.

"Okay." He says before looking at the blueprint again. "I'll try."

"Work your magic." Leo says as he spreads his arms above the blueprint and then leaves Armin to think. He walks next to Karl who is leaning against the wall.

"So that's why you needed that." Karl says and Leo leans against the wall on his arms.

"Armin is smart." He says. "If someone can come up with a good plan, it's--"

"Goddamn door!" Leo gets cut off by the girl that is trying to get a door open. Leo looks at her while she is struggling with the lock.

"What are you doing?!" The guy who stands next to her is starting to lose his patience. "You've been trying to open this door for like two minutes!"

"Hey. What's the problem?" Jean walks up to them to see what's going on.

"She can't open this damn door!" The guy is really frustrated and that makes the girl nervous, which makes her shake and fail even more. "Can you believe that?!"

"I'm trying my best!" The girl shouts back with tears in her eyes. Her emotions are not right at the moment.

"It doesn't seem like it!" The guy leans into her ears and Jean shoves him away.

"Hey! Back off the lady!" Jean gets in his face and Leo just sighs as the two are arguing.

"Guys! The key is stuck!" The girl says but Leo has the solution. He grabs the girl, pulls her away, and kicks the door open.

"There. Unstuck." Leo frowns at the two strangers and Jean, and then steps inside the room. He stops in the doorway when he sees what it contains. A few boxes stacked on top of each other. Leo seems concerned about the content of this room. Jean follows him and they open a box to see what it contains. The sight surprises them a bit. "Jackpot."

"Rifles. The ones the Military Police uses." Jean informs Leo, even though he knows that just as much as him. "But... guns?" Jean wonders when he picks up one to see it up close. "We might as well try to throw rocks at them." Leo doesn't say anything as he inspects the guns closer and notices that they are all loaded. "Leo, are guns even effective?"

"I don't know. I guess they are bound to be better than nothing." Leo says as they put back the rifles. "But, as my dad used to say..." Leo then grabs one of the boxes. "Never underestimate a weapon." 

"Hey, can someone tell me how many titans are down there?" Armin asks after analyzing his plan.

"Um... the last time I checked it was eight." Karl informs him and then Leo brings out the rifles with the help of the others. "All of them are around four meters tall."

"Check this out!" He says as he carries a box over his shoulder. "Courtesy of the Military Police..." He feels like he is about to sneeze. "And covered with a layer of dust." He puts it down and opens the box. "There should be enough for everyone. One rifle, with one bullet each."  He picks out a rifle for himself and then everyone else gets a rifle while Armin is still thinking. Leo then notices the face Armin is making. He flicks in his face to bring him out of his thoughts. Armin slightly shakes his head and looks at him without saying anything. "Do you have something?"

Leo's question makes Armin think even harder. He is not feeling confident about this at all. But, eventually, he takes a deep breath.

"Yes." He answers Leo and Leo is more than happy to hear this.

"Okay. Hey! Listen up! Armin's got something!" He shouts to the other cadets and then everyone pays attention to Armin.

"Alright. T-thanks, Leo." Armin says awkwardly and Leo sends him a smile which makes him feel a little better, just like on the rooftop. "I've seen your faces and it looks like you're doubting the rifles usefulness against the titans. I'm not so sure either, but they are bound to be better than nothing."

"Heh, sounds familiar?" Leo whispers to Jean as he fist bumps him in the shoulder. Jean just nods at him and they carry on listening to Armin.

"We are looking at eight titans in the supply depot in the four meters tall variety." Armin continues. "If we time this perfectly, this much ammo ought to be enough to do the trick. Step one: we lower a group into the area with the lift to get the titans' attention. Step two: when the titans come within range, the group fires in all four directions simultaneously, blinding them. Then the hard part. The moment of truth, as Leo would put it." Armin then looks at Leo who just smiles at what he said. "Before the titans have time to recover, eight of us swoop down from the rafters and strike their vital regions. That's it. That's the plan. It puts all of our lives on the line. If we screw up, we're dead. That's a hell of a risk for one attack, but this is our only chance." Leo and Reiner look at each other as they have hunch about who those eight people are. "Eight people have to slay eight titans in one blow, at the same time. I'd like the eight most physically capable people for this, though I apologize for burdening you guys with such a big responsibility."

"No worries, Armin." Reiner shares his opinion. "Seems like a sound plan."

"When you get right down to it, the risk is the same for everyone." Annie says, unusual from her to speak in a situation like this. "Doesn't really matter who goes."

"Uh, can I ask a quick question?" Karl steps forward. "Who are those eight people? 'Cause, I don't know everyone here."

Leo stares at Karl and he looks at him, too. Leo takes a deep breath and then stands up with the rifle in his hand.

"Mikasa, Jean, Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Connie, Sasha..." Leo points at everyone his is naming, then puts his hand on his chest. "And me."

There's a few seconds of silence between Karl and Leo as Karl comprehends what Leo said.

"I see." He says. "Didn't really expect you, to be honest."

"I tell you what I expect." Leo says. "You not missing."

Leo draws one of his blades out but Armin has doubts.

"But wait." He says. "Is  _my_ plan really the way to go? I mean, I'm a nobody. Shouldn't we consider someone else's idea, too?"

Leo frowns at Armin in surprise as he didn't expect him to say something like that.

"Come on, don't be so hard on yourself." Marco says. "For our only option, it's pretty well though out. If we give it our best shot, we might pull this off."

"It'll be fine. You just have to be confident." Mikasa says. "You're a better strategist than you give yourself credit for." This surprises Armin and he gapes at Mikasa. "I'm serious. That mind saved Eren and me more than once."

"When did I ever save  _you?_ That's not..." Armin doesn't understand what Mikasa is saying, but he doesn't have time to ask her because someone opens the lift.

"Alright, then let's not waste any time! Guns are loaded and the lift is ready to go! Let's go kill some titans!" The man at the lift shouts and Everyone starts walking into it.

"You didn't realize it at the time." Mikasa says as she stands up with Armin. "We can talk about it later."

Mikasa then walks away while Armin just stares at her. He always though he just a burden. But Mikasa's words seem odd to her.

"I bet she's right." Leo says as he walks up to Armin. "There's a reason why I wanted you to come up with a plan."

Leo then hands his rifle to Armin and he stares at him in confusion. Leo nods at him in response.

"Th-thanks." Armin says quietly and Leo pats him on the head. "Hey, guys! Use that door to get to the rafters. It leads straight to that."

"Okay, Armin." Connie responds and opens the door.

"Alright. Here we go." Leo says before turning back to Armin one last time. "Don't miss."

Armin nods at him and then Leo joins with his friends. Karl just watches with one eyebrow raised as Armin steps in the lift. He has a feeling that Leo done something he will regret one day. Karl then closes the lift and it starts descending.

"Okay, I'm gonna ask the obvious question." Connie says as the gang walk down the stairs. "Can we do this without ODM-gear?"

"No problem." Reiner answers Connie's question. "These guys are only four meters tall. The weak spots are not too far above eye level."

"He's right. Size won't be an issue." Jean says. "The spot's still only one meter high and ten centimeter across."

"Back of the head, the nape of the neck!" Sasha sounds ready and excited.

"Worse comes to worst, you can always shove one of these up their ass." Reiner still has the need to crack a joke like that. "That's their other weak spot."

"Are you serious?" Connie asks, being completely unaware of Reiner's sarcasm. "That's news to me."

"Did I miss out a day of training or something?" Even Sasha thinks Reiner is serious and that makes Leo crack up.

"Come on! Knock it off, Reiner!" Jean says as Leo laughs quietly into his hand. "You want your final words to be an ass joke?"

"To... to be honest, that would be... quite the way to go out." Leo says while laughing, earning questioning looks from everyone. 

"Are you for real?" Jean asks while being completely dumbfounded.

"Yeah." Leo says as he stops laughing. "I mean, just think about it. You are cornered by a titan, you know you're going to die, and then, at the top of your lungs, you shout: why don't you take this sword up your ass? And then it just smashes you."

Leo starts laughing again and no one follows his example.

"You are very childish." Bertholdt says, speaking for the first time since Leo found them.

"Oh, hey, Bertholdt." Leo puts his hand on Bertholdt's shoulder. "You're so quiet, I didn't notice you."

"Cut it out, Leo." Jean starts whispering as they get to the door. "We are here."

"Alright, guys. Be quiet." Leo instructs everyone and Reiner just facepalms.

"Look who's talking." He says but Jean shushes him. He slowly and carefully opens the door and checks the supply depot to make sure there are still eight titans there.

"Okay, it looks like it's still eight." He says and opens the door fully. "Let's go. Slowly."

As they get into position on the rafters, the lift arrives as well. The tensions are high, as Leo sweats like hell. Getting this close to a titan without allowing it to see you is no easy task. He carefully walks on a wooden beam but it suddenly lets out a cracking noise. He tenses up and removes his weight from that spot of the beam.

"Good. We're still at eight." Marco whispers as the lift stops in the middle of the room. After that, all of them take aim at the titans, waiting for them to notice the soldiers in the lift. "Alright. Nice and easy." A titan walks past them but stops midway. It quickly turns to them, making a couple cadets gasp in fear. "Don't lose your cool! Fire when they are all within range!"

At this point, all of the titans noticed them. They slowly walk towards them as the people on the rafters are getting into position for the kill. Leo carefully walks over the sensitive spot and picks his titan. 

'Come on. Hurry up, you sacks of shits.' Leo is impatient, but he needs to keep his cool. Everything is riding on them. If they screw up, that's it for them. But the titans are getting a bit too close now. The people in the lift are starting to feel very uneasy. A drop of sweat makes it's way into Leo's eye and he wipes it away quickly. 'Damnit.'

"Steady..." Marco is getting ready to give the order. He puts his finger on the trigger and waits for a few more moments. When the titans are as close as they can, he finally shouts. "Fire!"

At that signal, everyone shoots their rifles and the titans are blinded. The people on the rafters now begin running to take them out. Leo jumps from the very edge of the beam and roars as he cuts into the titan's flesh. He lands fine on the ground as he gets covered with a little blood.

"Please, tell me I got it." He begs and then looks up at the titan. It doesn't move but then looks at Leo. "Are you fucking..." He doesn't get to finish as the titan eventually falls down. He did manage to kill it. Leo has just killed his first titan. "Yeah, that's better."

"Sasha and Connie missed!" But Leo doesn't have the time to feel good about himself because not everyone was successful.

"Lead them the hell back!" Jean yells out as Sasha and Connie stare in horror at the two standing titans.

"Sasha! Move!" Leo shouts and runs towards Sasha. She is too scared to move.

"I-I-I'm... s-s-sorry..." She tries to apologize but the titan will never listen. It tries to crush her by falling on top of her but Leo throws one of his blades down to grab Sasha and throw her away. The titan misses and Leo picks up the blade he threw down.

"Get back, get back!" He shouts as he stands over Sasha. Mikasa then jumps on the titan's back and cuts its nape while Annie takes out the other titan. They both drop dead.

"Leo! Mikasa!" Sasha shouts when everything goes quiet. "You saved my life!" 

She hangs onto Leo the way he did onto Mikasa.

"Are you okay?" Leo asks her while holding her head.

"Thanks to you, I am." She says with tears rolling down her face from both of her eyes.

"Alright. It's over now." Leo says then looks at Mikasa after she jumps off the titan she killed. "Nice one, Mikasa."

She doesn't say anything, just gives him a slight nod.

"They're all dead!" Jean yells. "Start loading up supplies!"

"It worked!" Armin says, being totally happy to see everyone alive and Marco almost faints. He has to be grabbed by Armin and another cadet.

"Now, now, Marco! This isn't the best time to pass out!" Leo says and he helps Sasha up. The lift descends completely and the cadets start loading up with supplies.

"That was a close one, don't you think?" Karl asks as he walks to Leo with his gear. Leo found himself a gear too and is filling up with gas.

"Yeah, it was." He says and he sits up on the boxes to catch his breath. In the meantime he is refilling, Karl notices his wound.

"That looks nasty, dude." He says while touching a spot next to it.

"Oh, this? I forgot about it completely." Leo says as he finishes with one tank. Karl just laughs at what he said.

"You forgot about a head wound?" He asks. "I don't find it too surprising though. Even the blood is dry on your face."

Karl moves one finger across the blood trail on Leo's face. Leo chuckles a little and pushes Karl's hand away.

"I'll go to a doctor the second we are over the wall." He says and he is finished with his gear. A couple cadets already made it out.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 15 preview: After taking back the supply depot, Leo and company head out to go over the wall and get away from the titans. But, when Leo thinks that the hard part is over, the abnormal titan that helped them suddenly falls down after taking the other titans out. And when everything goes quiet, things become a whole lot more complicated.
> 
> Chapter 15: The Bastard Returns


	15. The Bastard Returns

Leo puts the gas tanks back on his thighs after he filled them up. He wipes the blood off his face which is dripping from his wound. He takes a look on his bloody hands then sighs before walking towards the exit.

"Hey, Leo." Karl turns around to look at Leo. "I heard that there is a titan that is killing the other titans. Is that true?"

"It is." Leo replies as he draws his blade and steps outside. He notices that there isn't any sound of the titan punching the living hell out of the other titans. "It's awfully quiet."

"Yeah." Karl says and then notices some people standing on a rooftop. "Hey, aren't they your friends?"

Leo looks up at where Karl is pointing and notices Armin, Mikasa, Jean and his squad standing and looking at something.

"They are." He says and shoots his anchors out to see what they are doing. Karl follows him. "Hey! What are you doing?!" He shouts at them when he arrives. "We have to leave if we--" He walks towards them as he speaks but then looks to the right to see what the others are looking at. "Oh. I see."

The strange, abnormal titan is being eaten by the other ones. Cannibalism was never seen by any humans amongts the titans, so the sight surprises Leo. Karl notices it too and just gapes.

"Leo! Help me out here, will ya?!" Jean says after walking up to Leo. "These guys are saying we should help the titan escape! I think it's a dumb idea, so help me convince them!"

Leo looks at Jean, not knowing what to think right now. He then looks back at the titans and just scratches his head.

"I... I don't know." He shrugs. "I mean... I..."

"I agree with them." Karl says while still looking at the titans. Everyone else looks at him and Jean gets even more frustrated.

"What?! Are you serious?! Why?!" Jean freaks out at Karl, who keeps his composure.

"Just think about it." He says before looking at Jean. "This titan is different. It acts with purpose. It has intelligence." He stops talking but everyone is quiet, too. He struggles to start talking but eventually gets the words out of his mouth. "C'mon, guys. This is our chance. This one has the power to wipe out the entire titan race, and if we believe there's even a one percent chance that he's our ally, we have to take it as an absolute certainty." Karl pauses to see the reaction of Jean and Leo, but they just stare at him in silence, although Leo is slowly starting to agree with him. "We're gonna have to save it."

"Karl, you can't be serious!" Jean is still against the idea of helping the titan. "It's not an ally, no way!"

"Jean! Just shut up!" Leo finally decides to say something. "I understand where you're coming from, but c'mon! This is a once in a lifetime chance."

Armin just listens to his comrades arguing but then looks to the left and sees something familiar and horrifying.

"Oh no!" He gets memories of Thomas' horrible death. "It's the one that ate Thomas!"

Leo hears Armin, looks at him, then at the titan he's looking at. Leo's eyes widen in shock which then turns into anger.

"I get that one." He says with a grunt and starts walking towards the titan while drawing his other blade. Jean tries to stop him by grabbing his arm but he shoves it a way.

"Leo, wait!" Armin steps in front of him, putting his hands on Leo's chest. Leo stops but still keeps his eyes on the titan, but after a few seconds his attention switches onto the rogue titan that escaped from the grasp of the titans. It roars as its arms are being ripped off and it leaps onto the titan that killed Thomas and bites his nape. The others stare in shock and Leo lowers his blades and his jaw drops. The titan, using the other's body, crushes a little titan, and then throws the titan into another one, destroying a few buildings in the process. It lets go of the titan's severed head and roars once again, and Leo can't help but notice, again, that he head this roar before.

"What was that you were saying?" Jean asks.

"Forget it." Karl replies and then the titan stops roaring, falls on its knees, then falls over. Armin gasps and Leo just looks around confused.

"I will do just that." Jean says. "Alright, enough of this! Let's leave while we can!" He turns around and is ready to leave. "Just imagine if that ugly bastard became bored. We would have been next on the menu." He then notices that everyone is still looking at the titan. "Look, a titan's a titan! What are you--"

He gasps in shock as he sees what the others are looking at. The titan is smoking from its nape and it looks like there's something in it. Leo walks closer to look what it is. Then, to his shock, a human body emerges from the corpse. And when the meat gets off his face, everyone sees who it is. Eren.

"What?" Leo asks as he almost falls over because of the shock, but it's Mikasa who is shocked the most. Her eyes widen and she instantly goes to Eren, without hesitation.

"Mikasa!" Armin shouts after her, but she doesn't listen. Leo and Karl look at each other and they can't believe what they are seeing.

"What... the hell?" Jean stares at Eren's unconscious body which is rising up from the titan's body. Mikasa rushes over to and hugs him. Karl then walks up to Leo and puts his hand on Leo's shoulder.

"Care to explain?" He asks while still staring at Eren.

"How, the fuck, would I know?" Leo answers and he doesn't take his eyes off of Eren either. Armin then follows down Mikasa, then Reiner and Bertholdt, too. Mikasa is crying, for the first time in a long time. This is a first for everyone to see her cry.

"He just emerged from a titan's body." Karl continues. "That's... something we haven't seen before."

"Yeah. But..." Jean holds his head with one hand. "How... h-how is that possible?"

"Guys! Come here!" Reiner shouts after the three boys and, hesitantly, they comply. They join with the others on top of HQ and Mikasa is sitting down while hugging Eren. Everyone is still astonished, especially Armin.

'It's him. But... his arm. His leg. I don't understand. I watched him get eaten. I watched him  _die._ ' Armin begins to cry too as his eyes widen and then kneels down to grab Eren's hand.

"What... in the world?" He clenches Eren's hand and him and Mikasa are both crying, while Leo is leaning on the edge of the building, looking at them. The sight of Armin holding Eren's hand like that doesn't make him feel good. Mix this with total confusion, and there's the perfect combination. Leo slowly tilts his head down while he is trying to understand what's going on.

"So uh..." Jean turns around to see the carnage Eren caused. "Eren... did all of this?"

"It seems like it." Reiner says.

"That's crazy." Bertholdt shares his opinion.

"Yeah." Karl squats down to think. Only Annie is the one who stays quiet. Leo on the other hand, is getting angrier as time goes by. Karl notices it instantly. "Leo?"

Leo starts shaking and the veins are clearly visible on his head. He is about to snap again, but this time, for some reason he calms down just as fast as he got angry. He slowly looks at Eren, then walks up to him and aggressively grabs him by his hair.

"Leo?" Armin asks in concern. He feels scared whenever Leo is angry. Especially when Eren is involved. Mikasa looks at Leo, too, but doesn't say anything. Leo leans closer to Eren's face.

"You are going to answer all of the questions I have for you." He whispers to Eren, even though he doesn't hear him. "What kind of freaky shit you got yourself into?" Leo holds Eren's head for a few seconds, then shoves it away. Then looks Armin, who is still holding Eren's hand. Leo looks slowly down at the two hands and he's trying his best to keep calm. He sighs, then stands up. "We should leave. I bet the others are freaking out right now."

"I agree." Reiner draws his swords. "Let's get going."

Mikasa looks at Eren in concern and then picks him up. Leo doesn't take his eyes off of Armin as he shoots his anchors and takes lead towards the wall. Karl closely follows him and he notices the strange look on his childhood friend's face. With one eyebrow raised, he looks behind him at Armin, as Karl noticed that the two have been looking strangely at each other. Armin has mixed emotions. He is more than happy to see his best friend alive, but he is also worried about Leo's reaction. He has seen Leo angry in the past, but every single time, he felt that it was kinda justified, but this time he doesn't understand why Leo acted this way. Why he got so angry. The only person who understands that is Leo, and there is a low chance of him telling it to anyone. Ever. They eventually arrive on top of the wall.

"Wait, let me help." Armin says to Mikasa and he takes Eren's arm and wraps it around his shoulder. Leo just stares at them blankly, but mostly at Armin.

"I get the elevator." Karl says as he looks at Leo. As he walks to the lift, he keeps looking back and forth between Armin and Leo.

'What's up with you, Leo?' Karl thinks and he opens the door of the elevator. He steps inside and then looks down. The sight scares him.

"Uh... guys?" He says as the others approach him. "Look down there."

"What's that?" Jean asks but then gasps when he sees what Karl is talking about.

"That's not good." Reiner rubs the back of his head. A handful of Garrison soldiers are waiting for them down there.

"Wh-what are we gonna do?" Armin asks and looks at Mikasa but she doesn't say anything. 

"We have to go down." Bertholdt says.

"Yeah, we don't have any choice here." Reiner sighs.

"But... what if they saw Eren get out of the titan?" Jean makes a valid point. "What are they going to do?" 

Armin shivers a little after what Jean said and Mikasa grunts quietly.

"If we run they will kill us." Annie speaks up. Karl closes the door and grabs the lever.

"We're just gonna have to play it safe." He says. "We know just as much as them. It would be better if he was awake."

Karl points at Eren and everyone looks at him, too. Except Leo. He has a strong grip on the edge of the lift and he is staring at the soldiers. Karl puts his hand on his shoulder and keeps it there while he lowers the lift. Leo sighs and shrugs off Karl's hand off of him. The lift descends to the ground, Jean and Annie step out but they are stopped by Captain Kitz Wielman.

"Stop right there!" He shouts and this is enough for Karl to instantly notice the fear Kitz is feeling. "What is the meaning of all this?! What was that we saw out there?!"

Kitz sounds scared, as he should be. Nothing like this has happened in the past, as far as his knowledge goes.

"Um... what now?" Karl whispers as he steps behind Reiner. No one answers him though.

"The cadet you're holding has just emerged from a titan's body! Leave him here, we take care of the rest!" He's asking the impossible, given the fact that Mikasa is here. She holds Eren closer with Armin.

"I'm staying!" She says in a cold voice. "Whether you like it, or not!"

Kitz gets caught off guard by that and he is lost for words.

"Are you nuts?" Jean asks. "Don't talk to them like that. They might--"

"I'm staying too!" Armin shouts, surprising everyone in the lift. "When he wakes up, he might not know what's happening! Someone needs to tell him! And he is my best friend! I'm not leaving him!"

Leo twitches at the words Armin is saying and grunts under his breath. Kitz just stares at them but eventually, he lets them stay.

"Okay, so you two are with him!" He shouts and Karl notices the strange tone in his voice. Like he thinks Mikasa and Armin know about Eren's power. "The rest of you, go away! And if you dare to speak about this to anyone, you will be punished! Understand?!"

The others look at each other, and they slowly start walking away, but it doesn't seem that Leo wants to move. Mikasa and Armin look at him surprised and Karl even walks back to him and grabs his arm.

"Let's go, Leo." He says as he pulls Leo away. Leo just stares at Armin as he walks away. Armin doesn't understand why Leo acts like this, but by the look of it, he knows that something is bothering him. But Armin thinks that Leo is just confused when in reality, it's something entirely different.

"Are you ready, Armin?" Mikasa asks before looking at Armin. He looks at her and gulps before answering.

"Yes."

"What's wrong with you?" Karl asks Leo while still pulling him. Leo doesn't say anything. He just takes his arm away from Karl and continues to walk behind him while looking at the ground. Karl hesitates before saying something again. He looks back at the path they walked on. "He must be a good friend of yours, huh?" He's referring to Armin, and Leo realizes that. He sniffs in response. "I see."

Karl decides to stay quiet after that. They walk to the other cadets and he sits down at a table, next to Reiner.

"Crazy stuff, right?" Reiner asks and offers a drink to Karl from a water flask. 

"Yeah." Karl says as he accepts Reiner's drink and takes a huge sip from the water. He wipes the water away from the corner of his mouth and then hands the flask to Leo. "You should drink, too." Leo stares at Karl and after a few awkward seconds, he takes the flask from him and sits down. "Why are you angry? I mean, I would understand if you were confused but... you are _angry._ Why?"

Leo looks at Karl while he drinks then slams the flask on the table, pouring out a few drops. Karl just quickly raises his eyebrows and holds his hands up.

"Wow. Someone has a bad temper." Reiner says. Leo doesn't say anything. He twiddles his thumbs while looking down at the table.

"Hey, Jean!" Then Ymir's voice is heard from a distance. "Where's Mikasa? She got hurt, or what?"

Jean looks at Ymir with a blank stare, then grabs the flask and drinks before answering.

"I'd tell you if I could." He says. "They slapped us with a gag order."

"Whoah. You're joking, right?" Connie asks.

"That's nuts." Ymir replies and Jean just chuckles.

"They're nuts if they think people aren't gonna talk. Word will get out, and when it does..." He pauses for a minute. "Well that is, if we survive."

Ymir deeply exhales then looks at Leo.

"And Leo, where's Armin?" Ymir mentioning Armin's name makes Leo's body twitch. He rips out the flask from Jean's hand. Jean gapes at Leo as he takes a huge sip from the flask. After Leo drank, he stares at the table for a few seconds before finally saying something.

"He's with Mikasa... and..." He almost revealed that Eren's alive but stopped himself at the right moment. Leo sighs before drinking again.

"And what? If you started saying it, you might as well finish it." Ymir puts on hand on her hips but doesn't get the response from Leo she was waiting for.

"Never mind. It's... it's nothing." Leo says and puts the flask down but it accidentally falls over. "Tch, great."

Leo crosses his arms on the table and twiddles his thumbs. His leg is shaking up and down, like it usually does when he is thinking. And there is one thing on his mind right now: Armin.

'Why am I nervous about that? Why? I... I don't get it.' Leo thinks back to the moment when he had to keep his cool. He realizes that now he is calmer than ever. 'What the hell happened to me? Why did I get angry?' The sight of Armin grabbing Eren's hand flashes in front of his eyes. 'Oh, yeah. That. _That._ ' Leo feels himself shaking again, so he closes his eyes to calm down. 'It's happening again. C'mon, Leo. Inhale. Count to four. Exhale. Count to four.'

It takes Leo a few minutes to calm down properly again. In the meantime, no one has even bothered to say something to him. Everyone is thinking about what happened today, although not all of them think about the same thing. Leo then suddenly remembers back to a conversation he had with Jean a while back.

 

 

Jean roars as he charges Leo but he steps aside, grabs Jean and shoves him down with ease. Jean groans in pain as he rolls on his side.

"Are you done?" Leo asks. For the past twenty minutes, Jean tried to take Leo down, but every attempt from him ended in failure. 

"Yeah, let's... call it a day." Jean sighs in defeat. Leo offers him his hand and he takes it.

"Sorry, but I'm just too good for you." Leo says with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, right." Jean holds his right shoulder he landed hard on. "You are probably using enhancements."

"Wh-what kind of enhancements would I be using?" Leo is confused and spreads his arms.

"I-I don't know. Maybe you... put something in my shoes to weight me down." Jean raises his leg and rubs the dust off his shoe.

"That's ridiculous." Leo laughs.

"I know, I know." Jean says, then looks to the left to see Armin and Eren sitting on a bench. Eren is drinking water while Armin has one hand on Eren's shoulder. "Creepy."

"What?" Leo asks and Jean is hesitant over asking Leo this question.

"Don't you... find it weird that Armin is _always_ with Eren?" Leo raises his eyebrow. Jean motions his head to the left and Leo looks at the two boys.

"What do you mean?" Leo asks, but he knows exactly what Jean means. He just wants to hear it from him.

"Well, you know, like... with the way..." Jean can't find the proper words and he just stutters, then sighs. "I... I don't know how to say it."

"Like a gay couple?" Leo asks without any hesitation. Jean gets caught off guard by Leo casually just asking this question.

"Well... you can put it like that." Jean says as he does circles with his shoulder to see if it's more hurt than it feels. Leo stares at Armin and Eren with his hands on his hips for a few seconds before giving his answer to Jean.

"I don't think so." He says. "I mean... yeah. They are just... good friends."

"Really?" Jean asks. He doesn't think Leo's being honest.

"Tell you what. If you want to know it so bad, why don't you just go and ask them?" Leo points towards Armin and Eren but Jean doesn't like the idea.

"What?! No! That..." Jean looks around nervously as Leo is raising his eyebrows at him. "Wouldn't I sound like an asshole?"

Leo chuckles before answering.

"Now that wouldn't be so much different than all the other times you talk, now would it?" He teases and leans close to Jean's face.

"Fuck you." Jean rolls his eyes and bumps shoulders with Leo as he walks past him.

"Careful." Leo turns around. "I might hurt that shoulder, too."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Jean sounds annoyed and Leo just laughs as Jean walks away. He then looks at Armin and Eren and sees the blonde looking at him. Armin waves at him and Leo smiles before waving back.

"Hey, Leo!" Eren shouts. "Great job on teaching that horseface a lesson!" 

Eren and Leo both chuckle as Armin just facepalms. Although Leo agrees with Eren, he can't resist the urge to shoot back at Eren and lifts one hand to his mouth.

"And great job on getting your ass kicked by Annie!" Leo smiles at Leo and Eren just shakes his head.

"Whatever, man!" He says. "I'm learning!"

"Yeah, sure!" Leo laughs. "Let's call it learning!" He laughs a bit more before walking away. "See you guys on ODMs!"

He says and they wave at each other. Little do they know that by the end of this day, Eren and Leo would end up hating each other for life.

 

 

'Why am I thinking back to that day?' Leo buries one hand in his hair and knocks on the table with the fingers of his other hand in a rapid motion. Now everything is clear for him. Or at least, that's what he thinks. "And so what if they are together? Why am I... Wait! Am I... mad... about  _that?'_ Leo's eyes widen and he is now completely confused. 'Why would I be mad about that? That makes no sense.' Leo then remembers about the strange feelings he gets when Armin is mentioned. 'Oh, wait. It makes perfect sense. Or... is it? Goddamnit! I am NOT in love with ARMIN!'

Leo closes his eyes and tries to get these thoughts out of his head. Ever since the bottle game, he has no idea why he feels weird around Armin. Is he denying it? Or he really is confused? He has no time to think about that though, as he feels something touch his wound. He quickly moves his head away and sees Krista holding a rag in her hands.

"Oh, sorry." She shyly says. "I just... wanted to take care of your wound."

Leo stars at Krista for a few seconds before responding.

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry." Leo says and reaches for the rag. "Let me."

"Um, okay." Krista gives it to Leo and he carefully wipes the wound with it. It's wet, so the wound pinches a little.

"Thank you, Krista." Leo says and pats her on the shoulder.

"Don't mention it." She smiles at him and then Ymir walks up to them. Leo looks up at her and sees a strange look on her face. Then Leo remembers something.

"Ymir, I--" Leo stands up to say something, but gets interrupted by a cannon fire and a giant explosion. Leo and the girls look towards the direction of the sound then Leo runs forward to check it out. He stops when he sees a cloud of smoke rising up from near the wall.

"Did... did they break down the inner wall?" One of the cadets asks.

"That's impossible. That's the sturdiest one of all." Another cadets say and Leo walks to Jean and his squad while looking at the steam.

"M-maybe they set off a shell by accident."

"But then, why is there so much smoke?"

"What happened?" He asks but everyone's too busy looking at the smoke.

"No way. Is that titan steam?" Jean asks but has no time to think about that as Reiner shoots his anchor to see what's happening. "Uh-- Hey!" 

Jean shouts after him and then Annie and Bertholdt follow him, too. Jean hesitates for a few seconds, but decides to after them as well. 

"Wait! Where are you...?!" Leo has no time to stop them. He looks at the titan steam once again and clenches his fist.

"I bet that is your friend." Karl walks next to him and Leo looks back at him.

"Are you sure?" He asks.

"Who else could it be?" Karl replies then goes after the others. Leo grunts and follows Karl. They arrive at the site where they left Armin, Eren and Mikasa. Leo gasps when he sees what is there. Everyone is in shock.

"It's a titan." Karl says in a  quiet voice.

"No." Leo says and Karl looks at him. "It's just a skeleton. A skeleton of a titan. What the hell...?"

All of a sudden, the skeleton moves his head and Kitz gets even more scared than he already is.

"It's alive!"

"Captain Wielman!" Rico calls out to her captain but gets no response. The skeleton then turns its head towards Kitz, who flinches.

"Let's see what it does!" He says in fear. "Maintain your distance! All squads remain alert! He can strike at any time! Artillery group, get that cannon reloaded!"

The people on the rooftops don't understand a thing. Karl looks up at the cannon then back at the skeleton. There already was something on his mind, but now it became clear to him.

"What the hell is going on?" Jean asks.

"Good question." Reiner replies.  

"I think I have an idea." Karl says and Leo raises his eyebrows and looks at him.

"What do you mean?" He asks and there is a little moment of silence before Karl sighs and starts talking.

"I have been thinking this past minutes." He says. "Your friend crawled out of a titan's body, which was moving freely on its own. He controlled it. That means, he has the ability to turn into a titan." 

Leo's jaw drops after what Karl said.

"At free will?" He asks and the others keep quiet.

"Yes. See that cannon up there?" He points at the cannon for everyone to look at it. "I bet that is what stopped him from transforming."

"But why would he try to transform?" Bertholdt asks. "That doesn't make much sense."

"We are talking about Eren here." Reiner informs him. "Who knows what he's thinking?"

Leo looks at his friends then back at the skeleton. He looks around it to look for Armin, Mikasa and Eren.

"Do you see them?" He asks the others.

"No. There's too much smoke." Annie says. They have to wait and see what happens.

'Armin, Mikasa.' Leo closes his eyes. 'Be safe. Please.' 

"What if they didn't survive?" Jean asks and Leo doesn't even want to hear that. His heartbeat quickens and he is losing his patience.

"We don't know for sure." Reiner says. "We just have to wait."

"Did he know?" Karl whispers, but a bit too loudly than he wanted, because Leo heard him.

"Did he know what?" Leo asks, surprising Karl. He hesitates for a few seconds, then just waves Leo off. "Nothing."

Leo is first surprised by Karl's reaction, but he doesn't spend too much time to care about it, because the skeleton's head falls down, and it vaporizes. Soon enough, they spot movement inside the smoke. Leo grabs his sword, but doesn't draw it yet. He gets relieved when he sees that the person walking out of the smoke is Armin, but at the same time, he knows something is up.

"Freeze!" Kitz orders and Armin stops and puts his hands up as the other soldiers aim their weapons at him. "You showed your true colors, you monster! I'll give the signal to fire, you hear me?!"

"Eren is not an enemy of humanity!" Armin says. "We're willing to cooperate with military command, and share everything we learned about his powers!"

"I'm not going to listen to you begging for your lives!" Kitz shouts. "He revealed his true form, and because of that threat he cannot leave here alive! If he really isn't an enemy of ours, show me proof! Otherwise, we'll blast them back to whatever nightmare he crawled out of!"

"You don't need any proof!" Armin shouts and this makes Leo question him.

"Is he insane? What is he doing?!" There is a little panic in his voice.

"He has a point though." Karl says and Leo gets confused by that.

"The fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter what  _we_ perceive him to be!" Armin continues.

"W-what?!" Kitz doesn't understand what Armin is talking about. As many others.

"You said hundreds of people saw him!" Armin turns to the soldiers standing around him. "Then they should've seen him fighting the other titans! And they would've seen the titans gain up on him!" Leo thinks back to what happened, and starts to see Armin's point. "Which means the titans see him the same way they see us: As their prey! And it doesn't matter how else you may look at it, that is an irrefutable fact!"

Armin was never this determined in his entire life. His and his friends' life are at stake. And what he said seems to have convinced the Garrison as they start to lower their weapons.

"He... he did it." Leo says as he is trying to keep his composure. "He convinced them!"

Karl smiles lightly but then takes a look at Kitz, and his smile fades away quickly.

"No, he didn't." He says and Leo quickly turns his head to Karl. He looks at him, too and Leo notices the worrying look on Karl's face. He starts shaking in fear as he waits. Kitz looks around at his troops and out of shock and fear, he doesn't believe Armin.

"Prepare to attack! Don't fall for his tricks!" At this point, it's too late for Armin to do anything about Kitz and his fear. Leo is now panicking. "The titans' behavior has always been beyond our comprehension! I wouldn't put it past him to assume human form! H-he is speaking our language, in an attempt to deceive us! We can't let them have their way any longer!"

The Garrison soldiers aim their weapons at Armin and the artillery squad is ready to attack.

"They are screwed." Reiner says, and fear is heard in his voice.

"The Captain is too scared to think straight." Karl says and Leo is breathing heavily in panic. 

'Armin... no...' He takes a few deep breaths, but then he snaps. He angrily growls and draws his sword but Karl grabs him.

"What are you doing?!" He says but Leo just shoves him away. Then Jean grabs Leo from behind.

"Are you out of your mind?! Don't go down there, you'll die!" He tries to reason with Leo but it's not working.

"Back off!" Leo shouts and he punches down Jean. "I'm not letting him die!" 

Leo runs forward but then stops when he sees Armin salute. The most powerful salute in all of human history.

"I am a soldier! And I have dedicated my heart to the resurrection of humanity, sir! Nothing can make me prouder than dying for such a noble cause! If we were to use his titan ability and combine it with the manpower we have left, I believe we can do it! We can retake this city! For humanity's glory, and what little time I have left to leave, I will advocate his strategic value!"

The air is cold. Everything just stopped, for both Leo and Armin. Leo looks at Armin in a way he hasn't looked before. He looks at him feeling hope, and pride. And something else. Everyone is quiet. Armin, who Leo thought was somewhat of a weak link, just managed to deliver a speech which makes Leo shiver. But sadly, not everyone feels the same way.

"Captain Weilman. His words may be worth considering, sir." Ian steps forward. "Maybe we should--"

"Quiet!" Kitz says and he is raising his arm up to signal the cannon to fire. Armin starts to lose all hope as Mikasa is reaching for her blade and Eren is about to bite his hand. Leo hesitates for a few seconds, but when he is about to step forward, he sees a familiar face walking up to Kitz. Kitz is about to move his arm down, but it gets grabbed by the man that walked up to him.

"That's enough." Commander Dot Pixis. "You should really do something about your nervous disposition, Captain Weilman."

"C-Commander P-Pixis?" Kitz asks as Pixis lowers his arm.

"Can you not see this soldier's heartfelt salute?" He says as he walks forward. Armin has his eyes closed and his whole body is stiff. "I've only just arrived, but I'm quite aware of our situation. Gather the reinforcements. I think, we could at least do these young soldiers the favor of hearing them out."

Armin and Leo both drop to their knees at the same time, relieved, and with tears in their eyes. Leo starts laughing and puts his hand on his face.

"Oh, Pixis. God bless your heart." He says and the others are confused by his reaction. Jean stands up as he rubs the spot on his face where Leo punched him.

"Who would've thought?" Reiner asks. "Armin is quite the genius, isn't he?"

"Armin..." Leo looks up to look at Armin and he lets go of his sword. He laughs again as he feels something strange. Something so wonderful, so special. Something he thought would never feel when it comes to Armin. "Oh, Armin..."

Leo's about to cry but he wipes his tears away quick enough.

"C'mon. Let's head back." Karl says and offers a hand to Leo. Leo looks at Karl's hand then up at Karl. He turns back to Armin one last time before taking Karl's hand. "He must be a good friend of yours, huh?"

Leo recognizes this familiar question and they share a laugh before heading back to the others.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 16 preview: "If the line isn't drawn now, it won't be drawn at all!" Humanity is about to launch the greatest operation in its history. And on the front, a titan is leading the charge. And while that is happening, Leo realizes his true feelings towards Armin, and is determined to protect him. No matter what.
> 
> Chapter 16: Counterattack


	16. Counterattack

Leo, with his squad, goes back to the others and the Garrison officers have started to gather up the troops. He still has Armin on his mind. The way he was protecting his friends surprised Leo. Made him proud. Made him happy. Made him feel something strange. Something he never felt in his life. Well, not to this extent at least. He has a small smile on his face, and Karl can't help but stare at him with a smirk. Leo notices and opens his mouth to say something but changes his mind. He just shakes his head and laughs quietly. Karl laughs, too in response. Every troop is lined up on one single road and are waiting for further instructions. No one knows what's going on, except those who were there when Eren transformed and blocked the cannon ball. Leo arrives next to his squad and looks around for the others but he doesn't see them.

"Hey, Bertholdt." Leo pats Bertholdt on his shoulder. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know." Bertholdt replies as he looks around and doesn't say anything more. Leo looks around, too, while knocking on the ground with his heel. He puts his hands in his pockets and patiently waits for something to happen. All while still having Armin on his mind. 

_"I am a soldier! And I have dedicated my heart to the resurrection of humanity, sir!"_

The way he was talking. Or the fact that he even tried to stand up for his friend, and succeeded. Leo never expected that from him. He knew Armin was smart, but never took him  _this_ seriously. Leo closes his eyes to remember how it happened. The look of sheer determination on Armin's face brings a smile to Leo's face. And soon, Leo feels his heartbeat quickening. Leo shoots his eyes open as a strange feeling strikes him again. 

'Why...? What is this?' He doesn't understand the feeling he has right now. 'Why do I... have Armin on my mind this much?' Leo closes his eyes again and suddenly, he remembers back two years ago, when they were playing Spin the bottle. When he was supposed to either slap, or  _kiss_ Armin. 'Kiss... or slap... Why am I...?' He remembers that he was inches away from Armin, and that he didn't know what to do. But now, with every passing second, he is more and more certain about the answer. 'Kiss... or...' Leo still has Armin's speech on a loop and the bottle game in his mind. He slowly opens his eyes and stares blankly at the ground. 'Kiss...' His breathing is heavy, he doesn't know what to think. He remembers Armin's face on that day. His ocean blue eyes, staring into Leo's emerald green ones. And the time when they were in the forest on a mission. When Armin was sleeping, and Leo was staring at him. He, for a second, thought Armin was somewhat cute. Leo's jaw slightly drops as he looks up at the wall where Armin is, and finally realizes his feelings. 'Oh, my, god... I'm in love with Armin!'

"GET OFF! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Someone is screaming terrifyingly from the front. It's Daz. "I'M NOT GOING BACK THERE!"

Daz is terrified, and his breakdown doesn't help the situation. Leo though, is too distracted to pay attention. The other cadets look around in confusion, and all of them are scared, and want to get out of there.

"So, who do you think's gonna have a nervous breakdown next?" Some girl in front of Jean asks her friend.

"I don't know." She replies. Her face is covered in sweat. Sweat she has by fear. "But Trost isn't the way I wanna go."

"Come again!" A member of the Garrison hears them and confronts them.

"I-I was only kidding around, sir!" The girl tries to get out of this awkward situation, but she doesn't have to. In fact, it's the opposite.

"Speak up!" The man instructs her and she gets confused. He leans into her face. "At the top of your lungs! Make as much noise as you can, cadet!" The girl squeaks as the man's words scares her to death. "Many of us in the Garrison in agreement, either. Now start a damn distraction so I can get out of here!"

"And where exactly do you think out of here is?" Jean asks after he listened to what the man had to say.

"Look man, I just want to see my daughter." The man says and what he says manages to catch Leo's attention. "We're all dead anyway, right?"

"You have a daughter?" Leo asks, and he is quite happy, despite the fact that this is a pretty scary situation.

"Yes, I do." The man replies.

"Huh." Leo looks away at the ground then back at the man. "That's nice."

"W-what is?" The man is confused. He's starting to get the wrong idea, judging by Leo's strange tone and attitude.

"Having someone you love." He replies while staring at the wall. "That means, you want to protect them. You want them, to be safe." Jean looks at Leo too, and even he doesn't understand why Leo is saying such a thing at a time like this. "That's... nice."

"Um, Leo?" Jean asks and Leo blinks a few before looking at him. He's finally in his normal state.

"Oh, sorry." Leo laughs and puts his hand on his forehead. "I just realized something, and it's... quite fascinating." Jean opens his mouth to say something but quickly decides not to and turns back to face forward. Leo rubs his forehead and then looks on his right to see Karl. Karl has one hand on his hip, the other one on his mouth. One finger tapping on his cheek, his usual thinking pose. Leo walks up to her and gently pushes him. "Hey." Karl shakes his head and then looks at Leo. "You are quite active on the thinking side, and you read the situation earlier pretty spot on so... what is on your mind now?"

Karl thinks a bit more for a few seconds before answering.

"I don't know much about Dot Pixis. But... he doesn't strike me as the type of guy who likes losing." Karl says and Leo frowns, not knowing what Karl means. "He seems like a sore loser type of guy. The one who is willing to take the chance whenever he gets the opportunity to do it."

"What do you mean?" Leo asks and Karl stays again silent for a few seconds.

"There's a boulder in Trost." Karl says and Leo slightly raises his eyebrow. "Are you aware of that?" 

"Yes. The one we were supposed to plug the wall with." Leo looks at the Inner gate and thinks back to the hole he saw in Wall Rose. "But we don't have the tech to lift it." 

"Do you really think that?" Karl asks and Leo looks at him, confused by what Karl is saying.

"What do you mean?" Leo asks.

"Oh, I don't know." Karl crosses his arms. "Think back. Your friend's titan sure looks muscular, doesn't it?" 

Karl doesn't want to say exactly what he thinks because he knows Leo can put the pieces together. Leo turns his head slightly away from him in confusion, but soon enough, he does understand what Karl is saying.

"You don't think that..." He begins talking but stops when Karl smiles back at him.

"I do." Karl says. "Using his titan form to lift the boulder."

"C'mon. If we did that right now, it would be a massive suicide mission. And besides, I don't think Eren is able to control his titan properly. I mean, he was completely insane when he was killing the titans." Karl knows that Leo brings up a good point. But he has a counter argument.

"What if he was just pretending?" Karl asks and Leo has nothing to say about that. He thinks back to the times they spent in the Cadet Corps. Now Leo looks at Eren's outbursts in a brand new light.

"So that's why he was so confident." He says. "It all makes sense. But why? And how?" 

Karl stares silently at Leo and then looks up at the wall to see Pixis walk to the edge.

"Showtime." He says and Leo first looks at him, but then notices what Karl is looking at. Pixis clears his throat.

"ATTENTIOOON!" Pixis shouts at the top of his lungs to make everyone listen to what he has to say, and there is dead silence. Leo even flinches a little as Pixis' loud voice goes through his ears. He straightens up and Karl raises his eyebrow.

"Man's got a strong throat." Karl says and Leo decides not to add anything to that, even though his dirty mind can come up with  _some_  inappropriatejokes.

"Take note! The blueprint of the Trost recovery operation is this!" Pixis begins telling the troops the plan to get Trost back. "Our primary objective is to reseal the hole! Yes, you heard right! What's more, it will be done manually!" This confirms Karl's theory. Leo just gapes then looks at Karl, who just smirks back at him, gaping 'I told you'. "As for how the task will be done, that's where this fellow comes in! Allow me to introduce, cadet Eren Yeager!"

Pixis moves his arm to the right and Eren walks to the edge of the wall and salutes, surprising those who didn't know yet that he is still alive. Leo chuckles a little but Karl is a little concerned about something.

"You got that one correct, too." Leo whispers to Karl but he notices the sudden changed look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"His name is Yeager?" Karl asks and Leo is surprised by that question.

"Yeah. Why?" Leo is confused and doesn't get what's wrong with Karl today. Karl just shakes his head.

"No reason. I just... knew someone named Yeager, that's all." He says but Leo is a bit suspicious about Karl's behavior, but he decides to not say anything.

"Don't let his appearance deceive you!" Pixis continues. "This young man is in fact the successful product of cutting-edge science! Fantastic as this may sound, cadet Yeager possesses the ability to fabricate and control a titan body, at will! In his titan form, he'll lift the giant boulder in the vicinity of the front gate, carry it to the hole, and seal it! And this is where you all come in! Your job will be to defend him! Yes! Defend a titan against its own kind!"

Pixis' words create divisive opinions amongts the troops. Some are amazed and start to feel hope again. But others are not that easy to convince.

"THEY'RE LYING!" Like Daz. "I'm not risking my life for a retarded reason like that! What do you think we are?! We are not disposable blades!"

Daz is close to going mad by fear and a lot of other soldiers feel the same way he does. Leo looks around and sees a couple troops turning around and walking away.

"This is not how I'm going out!" The man Leo was talking to earlier says. "Good luck to the rest of you!"

He turns around and the two other girls decide to follow him, too. Leo opens his mouth to tell them to stop, but then realizes that he can't say anything to them that would change their minds. He doesn't move from where he stands, but he understands why they want to leave. A lot of other troops are starting to leave, too and the higher-ups are not pleased, at all. Especially Kitz Weilman.

"Traitors, I kill you where you stand!" He yells and draws his sword. "Desertion is answered by death!"

He starts walking towards the people who are leaving, but much to his hard luck, Leo and Karl both draw their swords at him at the same time.

"I think you've done enough today, Captain." Leo says in his cocky manner, surprising Kitz in the process. The two childhood friends are not going to let him kill their comrades. And Karl is even surprised that they both thought the same thing.

"Out of my way! If you hinder my course of judgment, you will be executed, too." Kitz steps forward, showing no signs of backing down.

"Judgment?" Karl raises his eyebrow. "I think the word 'foolishness' would fit a lot better."

"Anyone wishing to leave, will, by my personal order, not be charged with treason!" Pixis breaks up the tension between the soldiers and Kitz is left feeling like a fool. "Those who have seen a titan first hand will not be expected to revisit such horror again! Whoever this applies to, you may leave with my blessing! Additionally, anyone with family or loved ones, they may also leave! The crown will continue to recognize your service! Thank you, and good luck!"

Leo looks up at Pixis and thinks that the way Pixis handles this situation is quite amazing. He then looks at Kitz, who is just gaping at Pixis in confusion, and sighs before putting away his sword with satisfaction. He then turns around to see the Garrison officer walk back to them. Leo smiles at him, then turns his attention back to Pixis.

"Now, take back four years ago! Namely the operation to take back Wall Maria! I bring it up because you all deserve to have your suspicions confirmed! Officially, we labelled it reconnaissance, but in fact, as most of you probably know, it was little more than a purge! A thinly disguised exercise in population control! We knew this in our hearts, of course we did! Yet, we turned a blind eye because the deaths of our fellow human beings allowed us to survive! Pure and simple!" Hearing those words make Leo almost want to puke. Deep down, he knew the truth behind all of the lies the higher-ups fed to them but he didn't want it to be true. But, it is. Sadly. "The guilt is ours! We share the blame! All of us! Because the citizens of Wall Maria were few in number, the conflict did not escalate! But what about now?! If Wall Rose is breached, reducing the mouths to feed by a fifth won't suffice! The lands comprising Wall Sina wouldn't support half the people now living! If we're wiped off the face of the earth, the culprits will not have been the titans, let me assure you! Oh no! We humans would be our own end! If the line isn't drawn now, it won't be drawn at all! If we must die, let us die here!" Pixis spreads his arms and Leo feels like he is ready to do anything. Pixis' words really got to him. Karl even notices it on Leo's smiling face. But Pixis is not done yet. "Ever since the titans appeared, mankind has not once claimed victory over them! For every inch the titans advanced, we retreated in kind, continually giving up territory! However, when this plan succeeds, humanity will recapture territory from the titans for the first time in history! That moment will mark the first time humanity has triumphed over the titans! Compare to all that humanity has lost thus far, this may be overwhelmingly insignificant! However, despite that, to humanity it will be a great advance!"

Pixis finishes his speech and the troops are feeling much better than a few minutes ago. Pixis turns around and walks back to Ian, Rico and Mitabi to tell them, they will be escorting Eren to the boulder. Eren stares at the troops for a few seconds, then lowers his arms and walks back to Armin and Mikasa. Leo looks around to see the faces of the people around him, and he is happy to see that a lot of people are willing to take part in the mission.

"Alright, people! You heard the Commander!" One of the officers from the Garrison shouts. "Now, wait for further instructions!"

"Tch. Screw waiting." Leo says. He is not in the mood to wait. He draws his sword and shoots his anchors. He flies onto the roof and starts running towards the wall.

"Uh-- Hey! You!" Kitz yells after him but Leo doesn't give a damn.

"Leo!" Karl shouts after him, too but then realizes that it won't do anything. Leo jumps off the rooftop of the last house and shoots his lines at the wall and swings upwards. As he flies above the wall, he sees Pixis standing in front of Ian, Rico and Mitabi. Eren, Armin and Mikasa are standing a few meters away from them. Leo sees them too and he lands on the wall, spinning in the process to slow himself down. He puts his swords away and starts walking towards them when a little confrontation happens.

"No way! I'm not leaving you alone!" Mikasa says to Eren after he refused to let her come with him. "I won't take another chance--"

"Knock it the hell off!" Eren wants to headbutt Mikasa again but this time she pulls her head back in time. Leo sees this and stops to listen what they are arguing over. "Get it through your head that I'm not your responsibility! You're not my mother!"

Mikasa just gapes at Eren then tilts her head down and accepts the fact that she won't go with Eren. Leo, on the other hand, gets pissed off. He already hates Eren and the fact that he is this rude to Mikasa, someone who Leo cares about despite the fact that she is so close with Eren, doesn't help fixing their relationship. He clenches his fist but doesn't say anything. He just takes a deep breath because he knows that pissing off Eren is not a good idea right now.

"Ackerman." Ian calls out to Mikasa and she will be happy by what he has to say. "I want you on the squad that will be providing Yeager with backup. We'll need your skill. Let's go. Let's get this..." Ian doesn't finish what he wants to say because he notices Leo. "Who are you, cadet?"

Armin, Eren and Mikasa turn around to see their fellow cadet standing in front of them. His presence surprises each of them more and more.  

"L-Leo?" Armin asks and Leo looks at him before answering to Ian.

"I'm cadet Leo Syxton, sir!" Leo forgets to salute but Ian is more concerned with something else. And as more time passes, even Leo starts to recognize the man that he owes his whole life to. "Wait. Why do you look so familiar?"

"You were in Shiganshina five years ago, correct?" Ian asks just the right question. Leo's eyes widen as realization hits him like a lightning bolt.

"Y-you! You were the one who saved me!" Leo says excitedly and Ian cracks a small smile. "I... holy shit! I never got the chance to thank you so... thank you."

"Don't mention it." Ian says. "It was a messy day, huh?"

"Yeah... I remember yelling at you to stop arguing." Leo laughs a little as he remembers back to that moment.

"Yeah, that was intense." Ian replies but he knows that this isn't the time for this. "Alright. We can discuss this later. Let's go."

He starts moving out with Mitabi and Rico but Eren has a few words for Armin.

"See you, Armin." He says while he starts running. "Don't die on me, okay?"

"Yeah." Armin replies back. "You either."

The elit squad with Eren are on their way to the boulder and the troops are slowly starting to just get the information about what their task is gonna be.

"You don't have to worry about that." Leo says as he walks up to Armin. "Not with me here."

"What... what are you doing here?" Armin asks Leo as he steps next to him. Leo hesitates for a while with answering as he is just smiling at Armin. Armin is confused about Leo's behavior but Leo realizes that this is not the time nor the place for something like this. He takes a deep breath before answering.

"I didn't want to wait. I knew that you are up here, so... I decided to come up." Leo feels very uncomfortable while talking to Armin. He then scratches his left cheek with his finger to try to hide his blood-red face. He is actually blushing, and he doesn't like that, at all.

"Well... that's nice of you." Armin says with a shy smile, which Leo finds cute. A shy smile is really not what Leo needs to see from Armin right now. There's an awkward silence between them and Leo tries his best to not seem creepy, or wierd. But Armin is not the type that you can trick easily, and Leo knows that. But he can't help but to bring up the speech Armin delivered earlier.

"Uh... that was a... brilliant speech you gave a few minutes ago." Leo's face is full on red and he tries his best to hide it. 

"You... you heard it?" Armin asks and he sees that Leo is not feeling comfortable right now.

"Y-yeah... I did. So did Jean, Reiner, Annie, Berthold and Karl." Leo continues. "As soon as we heard the explosion, we quickly moved over there. And I have to say, it wasn't a pretty sight."

Leo chuckles a little as Armin is more focused on the fact that Leo is more nervous than he would consider him to be. Leo expects Armin to say something but instead, there's an awkward few seconds of silence.

"You heard the entire thing?" Armin decides not to ask Leo about what he is feeling. For Leo, that is good, since he won't feel more awkward. Although, that's not really possible anyway.

"Yes." Leo answers after taking a deep breath. "And, again, you surprised me. I mean, you had the balls to go up against the entire Garrison, just to save... your friend." 

Leo's mood suddenly changes when he brings up Eren. It seems like his hatred is not gone in the slightest. And the way Armin was holding Eren's hand when they found him is not bringing any good news for Leo. He clenches his fist behind his back and bites his tongue, but Armin notices his anger.

"What's wrong?" Armin asks as he steps a little closer to Leo.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing." Leo knows that this conversation isn't going anywhere. "So, what's the plan?" So he decides to change the subject quickly. "Can you fill me in?"

"Um... yeah, sure." Armin says while Leo walks to the edge of Wall Rose to look at the destroyed outer gate. His eyes then lay on the boulder Eren will carry to the hole. "Eren will be escorted by an elite squad to the boulder, while we distract the other titans away from them."

"And how are we gonna do that?" Leo asks, having his eyebrow raised. "I mean, there's a  _lot_ of titans. Getting rid of them won't be easy."

"We won't fight them." Armin says and Leo quickly looks at him in surprise.

"What?" Leo didn't expect to hear this. "Can you say that again?"

"I said... we won't fight them." Leo is confused and he just gapes and wonders about what Armin is saying. "Titans are usually drawn to large groups. So, we regroup up here and gather all of them into this corner of the wall."

'An interesting but safe idea.' Leo thinks and he looks down at the houses below them and spots his house.

"Can't we gather them up in the other corner?" He asks, not being completely serious though. But he figures that Armin wouldn't mind.

"W-why?" Armin asks and Leo chuckles a little as the troops already started to climb the wall.

"See that house there? With the backyard, and dog house?" Leo asks while pointing with his sword.

"Yes." Armin answers. "What about it?"

"That's my house." Leo looks at Armin who is taken by surprise by this. He knew that Leo lived around that part of Trost but he didn't know where exactly. Leo never invited him, which he would have done if he realized his feelings towards Armin. Took him long enough. 

"Oh. Wait. You didn't tell me you had a dog." Armin points out the most irrelevant fact for Leo right now. Leo just sighs before saying something.

"I had. I had. And the reason I didn't tell you, is because..." Leo stops talking as he remembers that day when his dog, Mike, was killed. That mad doctor knocking him out, and him waking up to see Mike decapitated. It angers Leo to this day, especially because the doctor is  _still_ missing.

"Leo?" Armin leans forward to look at Leo's face, who is taking his time to think about that horrible day. "Leo?" Armin then puts his hands on Leo's shoulder, which makes Leo come back to the present. He shakes his head and just stares at his feet. "Are... you okay?"

"What? Me? Oh, I'm fine. Uh... d-don't worry... about me." Leo shakes this whole thing off and quickly tries to concentrate on the real matter at hand. "But uh... we should be focusing on retaking Trost."

"Yeah, that would be a great idea." Karl says and both Leo and Armin are surprised by his sudden presence. Karl walks up to them with a cocky smirk on his face. "And besides, I didn't get a chance to test my skills against the titans yet. So this is a great opportunity."

Leo is confused by what Karl is saying and after a few seconds of trying to say something, he finally decides to confront him about something that's been bothering him ever since they reunited.

"Okay! Who are you, and what did you do to the real Karl?!" Leo asks and he is a bit annoyed at this point and Karl just spreads his arms in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Karl asks but he is a little sarcastic, which Leo does notice.

"The Karl I know is a big wuss, and the only purpose he has in life, is to make _me_ feel better." Armin is feeling a little awkward standing next to the two of them and not knowing what's going on but they are not bothered by that, at all.

"Okay. First off, that's a bit mean." Karl speaks in a calm voice, which manages to annoy Leo a bit more. "And second of all, I changed a lot while I was in the military. I guess... I've finally become a man." Karl holds his hand up and looks up at the sky while he says that. Leo can't find the words to reply to him and Karl finds that amusing. And Armin is even more confused, but he decides to not ask anything. "So... This is it, huh?"

"Um, yes, I guess." Leo says as he turns around to look at the city of Trost, and Karl walks to the edge of the wall. "We are about to do this."

Armin steps next to him and Leo turns his head to look at him. They glances meet and Leo just smiles at Armin, who returns the gesture.

"You do know that if we fail here, we're all dead, right?" Karl asks and manages to ruin Leo's remaining confidence he had left.

"Thanks. That was very encouraging from you." Leo says in a annoyed manner and Karl just laughs. After a few seconds though, there's a silence between them as Leo admits that what Karl is saying is reality. "But, you're right. If the line isn't drawn now, it won't be drawn at all."

"That's what Pixis said." Karl whispers without looking at Leo.

"I know." Leo nods his head and then takes a deep breath. "So let's draw that fucking line!"

It takes the soldiers ten minutes to lure the titans into the corner of Trost. But in those ten minutes, the titans managed to kill over a hundred troops, and even more got injured. Leo is hanging on the side of the wall, next to him is Armin. Leo never lost sight of him. He was always close to him. Keeping an eye out for him. Helping him in whatever he could. The titans underneath them are reaching out to grab them but they are too high up. Leo looks around at the titans. Each face is different from the other, and each brings different emotions out of him. There are the ones with an expressionless stare, the ones with a huge grin, and the goofy ones that makes Leo laugh. He takes a deep breath as he knocks his sword on the wall, waiting for the elite squad to signal that the operation to lift the boulder has officially started. But so far, nothing.

"Um, Leo?" Armin says and it takes Leo a few seconds to notice that Armin just spoke to him.

"Yeah?" He asks while facing forward. He cannot see the boulder from where he is.

"Do you think, that... this is a good plan?" Armin doesn't sound confident and Leo raises an eyebrow in confusion. He looks at him and they stare at each other before Leo sighs.

"It's your plan, so it must be." Leo shrugs and Armin gets surprised by what Leo said. "Why do you ask?"

"N-no reason, just... wanted to know your opinion. That's all." Armin sounds a little uneasy and Leo notices it. He moves closer to Armin and puts his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry. You have a brilliant mind to strategy." He says while he gently caresses Armin's shoulder. "If it's your plan, I go with it."

Armin can't believe what he's hearing. Not only Eren and Mikasa, but Leo too thinks that he is not useless. Armin can't help but to turn away from Leo and smile.

"Y-you... you really think so?" He asks. Leo waits a few seconds to answer.

"Yeah." Leo removes his hand off of Armin's shoulder and pats him on the head. He then looks forward to look around if any of the titans decided to take a hike on the streets of Trost. Nothing is going wrong at the moment.

"I check if someone needs gas or not." Armin says as he adjusts the gas tanks on his back and Leo only gives him a thumbs up, which makes Armin crack another smile. He heads up the wall and Leo is starting to get a little impatient.

'Come on, what is taking them so long?' He knocks his sword on the wall a little faster. 'I mean, I can't see any titans around them. At least, as far as my sight goes from back here.' Leo looks up at the wall but he can't see anyone. He lets out an annoyed sigh and groan as he just stares at the titans beneath him. 'You are so fucking stupid, aren't you?'

But, it seems like he doesn't have to wait for longer, as the elite squad signals with a green flare. They started their task. Few seconds later, a sudden lighting bolt hits and Eren is transformed. A big explosion follows as he crashes into the building, then stands up and lets out a roar, which Leo can hear crystal clearly. But that's not the thing he is most surprised about.

"A lightning bolt?" He asks himself as he remembers how the Colossal Titan appeared. "The same lighting bolt. Wait, does that mean...?" Leo dedicates the next few seconds to think about that, but it doesn't last long, as a red flare is shot by Rico, signaling that the mission is a failure. "What?! Already?!" Leo growls and kicks the wall in anger. He can't believe what he is seeing. It wasn't even half a minute and the mission is already a failure. "More than a hundred soldiers gone. For what? For trying to overcome our enemies? To show them humanity's true strength? Perhaps... relying on a useless suicidal bastard wasn't the right call."

Leo's grip on his sword tightens as he thinks more and more about this, but there is nothing he can do. He, just like everyone else, will have to be patient. And this gives him time to think back to what he was previously thinking about. About the lightning bolt.

'So, if Eren transforms with that lightning bolt, the same way the Colossal Titan appears, then...' He can't believe this. Or more like, doesn't want to. The fact that someone is assisting the titans makes him sick. Sick to his stomach. 'Why? Why would somebody wanna do that?!'

"Don't withdraw just yet! The Commander orders everyone to stick to the plan!" Someone from the Garrison informs the ones hanging on the wall. Leo first is confused, which then turns into anger. He knows that this is pointless, so why stick to the plan? Only Pixis knows. After a few minutes though, there's one titan walking dangerously close to Leo's house. When Leo notices, he becomes panicked in a second.

"Oh no! No! NO! You stay away from my house!" Leo is shouting as if the titan would care, but there's just too many titans under him, he can't stop it. "Hey! Don't you dare!" The titan is taking quick steps towards his house and Leo becomes more and more panicked the closer it is. "No! STOP!" The titan doesn't slow down and it makes his way to Leo's house. It doesn't step on the house, but it does step on Mike's grave, which makes Leo even more mad. "You just stepped on my dog's grave, you jackass!"

Leo shakes in anger but then decides to let it go. He takes a few deep breathes. But then, his attention turns onto another titan, which is slowly climbing up a building. Leo raises an eyebrow as he watches the titan. 

'What are you up to, huh?' He doesn't take his eyes off it. Out of all the others, this is the only one climbing the houses. 'Are you bored or something? Oh, maybe you want to step on my dog's grave, right?!' The titan's and Leo's glances meet, and they are legit staring at each other. Leo moves up the wall a bit, but his eyes stay on the titan. The titan crawls closer and closer, crashing the roofs of the houses and making Leo a bit scared. 'What is it...' He can't wrap his head around this. The only explanation he has, that it is an abnormal. That's the only logical conclusion. 'Fucking abnormals. Why do you have to be different?' The titan stops crawling at the edge of the last house, and then picks up a strange position. Leo wonders what it is doing, but then he notices something stranger. The titan is in a pouncing position. Like it's about to jump. Leo quickly realizes its intentions. 'Oh no...'

"Abnormal! It's about to jump!" Leo warns everyone around him as the titan is leaping towards him.

He tries to get up the wall, and as he moves up, the titan crashes into the wall, knocking him upwards. He is high up in the air and he sees the titan hanging on the edge of the wall. It is halfway up there. Its nape is a clear target for Leo at this distance. He shoots at the nape with his anchors and he is closing in on the nape. But as he moves towards it, he gets a bold idea. He smirks and then leans back. He is about to attempt the move he couldn't do before: cutting the nape with flipping forward. He starts flipping and it goes well, until he gets to the nape. He doesn't rotate enough and his legs hit the titan and that interrupts the whole sequence and Leo just falls flat on his ass. 

"Shit. Are you fucking kidding me?!" Leo punches the titan and it turns his head to try to look at him, but titans can't turn their head in a simple one-eighty. Two soldiers cut the fingers of the titan and it starts to fall backwards. "Oh shit!"

Leo rolls back and he almost falls down, but he manages to grab the titan's long hair, pull himself up and jump. He lands on the edge of the wall, but he slips and he has to grab the wall in order to not fall down. As he hangs on to dear life, he sees the titan fall on top of the titans under it, crushing and killing the smaller ones. He takes quick breaths and then grabs the wall with his other hand and climbs up.

"Leo!" Jean runs to him to help him get up. "Here, let me help."

"Thanks." Leo says as he takes Jean's hand. He is pulled up and he dusts his pants, then looks around. "Did anyone die?"

"No." Connie walks up to him. "You warned us just in time."

"That's good." Leo sighs and bends over on his knees. He is both relieved and angry right now. "But that was an interesting move you were going for."

"Don't even bring it up." Leo stomps on the ground in frustration. "How could I be so stupid?"

"Now now, calm down." Jean pats him on the back. Leo straightens up and holds his hand up, thanking Jean for comforting him.

"Okay, I won't try that again." He says as he puts his hands on his hips and looks around. He is searching for Armin but he can't see him. "Where's Armin?" 

"He went to see what happened with Eren." Marco answers Leo's question as he walks up to him with Karl. Leo's eyes widen and he slowly turns his shaking head to look at Marco.

"What?!" He asks and he is a little angry and terrified.

"U-uh... he-he went to--" Marco can't repeat it because Leo steps in front of him and grabs him by his coat.

"And he went alone?!" He shouts, leaning into Marco's face.

"Well yeah uh--"

"And you let him?!" Leo is becoming more and more scared. He wanted to keep Armin close, but now, he went to save Eren. Marco is too scared to reply to Leo, so he lets him go. "You are a fucking idiot!"

"Wait, Leo!" Karl tries to grab Leo but he misses his arms. "Where are you going?!" Leo doesn't stop and starts running the way Armin headed on the wall. He stops though and looks to the right at the direction of the boulder. Karl runs up to him. "So, you decided to stay after all?"

"No." Leo says. "I'll just take a shortcut!"

"Wha-- Wait!" Karl can't stop Leo, who runs forward and jumps off the wall. He spins with his swords in his hands as he falls into the pile of titans, cutting them away from him. He then goes through the legs of a fifteen meter tall titan and he marches on to get to Armin, feeling both angry and concerned.

'I take my eyes off of him for two minutes, and he's already gone!' Leo dodges every single titan that is in his path. He is going as fast as he can. He is not about to lose Armin right now. Not after what happened. A titan manages to grab his leg, but, without even looking, he cuts its fingers and continues to move forward. He then hears a man screaming for his life. He looks to the right and sees a titan putting a soldier into its mouth. Leo decides to save the man and he quickly launches himself towards the titan. He doesn't have the time to cut the nape, so he just grabs the man's hand and stuffs the sword into the titan's mouth, preventing it from closing.

"Hold on!" Leo says as he is trying to pull out his comrade out of the titan's mouth.

"Oh please! Help me!" The man is begging for Leo and is screaming for his life. Leo struggles to open the titan's mouth. He is not strong enough. He tries to force it open with assisting with his leg, and it helps a little. He grabs the man and starts pulling him. He can't get him out though. Suddenly, Leo hears the sound of human flesh ripping in half and he pulls out the soldier from the mouth. Leo lands on his back and the soldier falls on him. 

"Alright, we got it." He says but when he lifts up the soldier, Leo is horrified by the sight. The soldier has been bitten in half. Leo lets out a scream as he throws the man away and then he looks at the titan, which is reaching for him. "Shit!" Suddenly, someone appears and cuts the nape of the titan. It falls down on the ground and the soldier lands next to Leo. "Karl?!"

"You fucking hypocrite!" Karl shouts as he kicks Leo's leg.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Leo asks, completely unaware of what Karl's intentions are.

"You insulted your friend for letting Armin go alone, yet you do the same thing! Typical!" Leo is angry at Leo for a good reason. Leo just lies on the ground for a while and the awkward tension between them is noticable. "But we're here now so, let's help Yeager, shall we?"

Karl offers his hand to Leo, which he hesitantly takes. He dusts his pants and he is ready to go.

"Thanks, by the way." He says but he doesn't wait Karl to respond. He goes ahead and makes his way to the boulder.

"Yeah, you're welcome." Karl says quietly and follows Leo. They arrive at the boulder and see the elite squad fighting with a dozen titans. But the most terrifying sight is Eren sitting by the boulder unconscious. Leo then notices that someone is on his nape. It's Armin.

"Armin!" Leo shouts but then a titan appears from behind and they have to dodge. Leo gets closer to Armin by landing on the boulder itself. Armin has his sword stabbed into the nape of Eren's titan. "Armin!"

"Leo?!" Armin looks behind him as the titan falls on the ground after Mikasa cut its nape. "What are you doing here?!"

"I could ask the same thing!" Karl joins Leo on the boulder. "What are we doing here, Leo?! We have to get out of here!"

"Armin, what are you doing?!" Leo doesn't listen to what Karl has to say.

"I'm trying to wake him up! You need to protect me!" Armin says and then continues to knock on the nape. "Go!"

Leo doesn't understand what's going on, but he doesn't have much time to think about that, as Karl pats him on the shoulder and he looks behind him to see three titans closing in. He then looks back at Armin.

"Alright, will do!" He says. "We'll protect you!" Leo spins his swords in his hands and points at Karl. "You ready?"

"Whatever." Karl shrugs and sighs. "Let's do this!" They smile and nod at each other and then they charge the three titans. "I go for the one on the left! You take the one on the right!"

"Already ahead of you!" Leo shouts back and he dodges the titan's hand and cuts its nape. Karl does the same and then they both kill the last titan, cutting its nape at the same time. "Good one!"

'I will not let you die, Armin! No way!' Leo is determined. He is confident and his only personal duty is to make sure Armin makes it out okay. They hold off a couple other titans and then Leo notices Mikasa, who is about to get attacked by a titan.

"Mikasa! Behind you!" He warns Mikasa, who is now able to get away from the titan. She loops back and kills the titan and Leo lands next to her on the rooftop.

"What are you doing here?" Mikasa asks.

"Protecting Armin. The same as you." Leo replies as he exchanges his blades. They then notice more titans coming in.

"Leo! There's too many of them here!" Karl yells from a distance. "Help me out, will ya?!"

"I'm coming!" Leo yells back. "Let's go."

"Yeah." Mikasa agrees and they go to assist Karl. They take out the titans and Mikasa sees that support is needed by Mitabi's squad. "I'll go support team Mitabi! You guys can handle this, right?!"

"Yeah, Mikasa! Go ahead!" They nod at each other and Mikasa cuts the nape of two titans on her way to Mitabi.

"Wow, look at her go. Not bad for a cadet." Karl walks next to Leo as he exchanges his blades.

"She is ranked number one amongst us, and got assigned to the elites." Leo informs Karl. "She is good. Pretty good."

"Is she, now? And where did _you_ rank?" Karl asks and bumps his shoulder into Leo.

"Number two." Leo hesitantly answers. "But this isn't the time for this! Let's go and finish this!"

The amount of titans being killed is nothing compared to the loss of human soldiers. They are dropping like flies. Leo can't look anywhere without seeing someone get eaten who he can't save. Hell, even he has to get saved from time to time by Karl. But he does return the favor. He cuts the nape of another titan and he exchanges his blades.

"Shit. I'm running low! What about you?!" Leo asks Karl who joins him on the rooftop. Karl exchanges his blades, too.

"Two more, not counting these. That's not good." They take a deep breath on the rooftop and check if there are any titans close to Eren. Suddenly, they hear giant footsteps. They look to the side and they see Eren carrying the boulder. "Are you kidding me?!"

"He did it!" Leo can't believe what he is seeing. Armin managed to wake Eren up and now he is determined to seal the hole.

"Let's join up with the others!" Karl suggests and Leo agrees with a nod. They move out and join Mikasa and Armin on a rooftop.

"Leo!" Armin notices them as they land next to them.

"Great job, Armin!" Leo says and that makes Armin smile a little.

"We have to keep Eren safe!" Ian orders. He starts running forward but then stops when he sees Mitabi's squad on the ground, running towards the titans. "Team Mitabi! What are you doing!"

"The bastards have lost interest in us! We have to get close enough to grab their attention!" Mitabi shouts as they run towards three titans. When they get close enough, they stop to taunt the.

"Hey, big guy! Over here!"

"You're walking away?! Maybe you want us to shove our blades right up your smelly asses!"

"Huh. I know someone who agrees with that tactic." Leo says and it looks like team Mitabi's words were heard by the titans. They stop and notice them standing on the ground. Mitabi becomes a little scared by them and they start luring them away.

"It worked! We got two of them!"

"Alright! Make a run for the buildings!" Mitabi gives out the order.

"They're insane! Setting foot down there is suicide!" Armin panics over their safety. "If they get cornered somewhere, there'll be nothing they can do!"

"Yeah, I know." As much as Ian hates to admit, they have to follow their lead. "Let's move out!" He says and he jumps down to the ground. "Follow team Mitabi!"

"Right! Listen! We'll prevent the ones walking towards Eren. You'll deal with the ones closest to him, got it?!" Leo shouts and Mikasa nods before heading out to assist Eren.

"Be careful!" Armin says and Leo just smiles and nods at him.

"Don't worry." He says and then notices that Karl has already gone ahead and started killing the titans. There's so many of them and Leo is low on supplies. But he is in too deep now. He can't go back. If he runs out, that's it. He then sees a titan that is about to eat a soldier. "Oh no, you don't!" He heads over and lands on its face. He steps into the mouth and throws out the soldier. But as he turns around, he slips on the saliva and the titan almost swallows him. The one thing keeping Leo from death is his sword, that is stuck between the titan's teeth. "Oh shit! This is bad! Very bad!"

He tries to pull himself up but it's too slippery. He grabs his other sword to try to use the gear to get out but then he gets grabbed by Ian. Leo is shocked to seem him and he gets thrown out of the titan's mouth. As he is falling towards the ground, he watches Ian. Ian almost gets away, but the titan moves up its hand, preventing him from getting out. Leo's eyes widen as he lands back first on the ground. He watches Ian get eaten by the titan and his head falls on the gound. Leo's heartbeat quickens and his temperature rises. He starts shaking in anger and he grabs his swords and launches himself towards the titan. He stabs it in the eye and leaves the blades in it. He grabs his two remaining blades and cuts the titan's nape, roaring in anger as he does it. He lands on the ground as the titan falls. His face is expressionless and his eyes are twitching. He wipes away a tear and sighs. And then he hears Marco screaming.

"Marco?!" He quickly heads towards the direction of the sound and he sees that Marco is grabbed by a titan. He quickly gets there and cuts the nape, saving Marco. Marco falls on the rooftop and Leo lands next to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Marco is too scared to stand up, but Leo drags him up. He then looks at Eren who is at the gate. Armin shouts 'go' at the top of his lungs while Eren is roaring and Eren lifts the boulder and shoves it into the hole, creating a giant shock wave. It's done. The hole is sealed. The mission is a success. Leo gapes at the sight, and he can't help but to feel... a strange happiness. Rico fires up a yellow flare, letting everyone know that the mission was a success.

"He... he did it." Marco says, with a tear leaving his eye.

"No." Leo puts his hand on Marco's shoulder. " _We_ did it." Leo shakes Marco who smiles back at him and Leo starts laughing. He strangely quickly forgot about Ian's death earlier. "We fucking did it! Yeah! Suck it titans!"

Leo puts his fist in the air in celebration but Marco is not as happy as he is.

"Leo?" Marco thinks it's not appropriate to celebrate and Leo notices it on his face.

"Alright. I know. Shouldn't be celebrating." Leo holds his hand up in defense. "But, drink's on me tonight, Marco." He points at Marco as he is starting to leave but then he notices Reiner and Bertholdt standing on a rooftop together. "Hey, tell those two buffoons to get a move on."

"A-alright, will do." Marco says and Leo heads to Eren to see what's going on. He lands on the ground and starts running on foot. But suddenly, two titans appear out of nowhere and they are closing in on Armin, Eren, Mikasa and Rico. Leo sees that Armin is defenseless.

"Armin!" He shouts as he shoots his anchor on one of the titans. He jumps up but then quickly falls down and rolls on the ground. "Dammit! Out of gas!" He slaps the ground and looks up at the two titans standing in front of Armin. "Armin, no!" But here comes Captain Levi! He quickly takes out the two titans and Leo just stares blankly at him. Levi lands on one of the fallen titans and they stare at each other for a few moments. That's when Leo realizes who he is. "Wait. C-Captain Levi?!"

Levi doesn't put too much attention on Leo and he turns around to look at the important thing in this whole scenario.

"Pay attention, kiddos." He says in a relatively calm voice. "This is the part where you explain to me exactly what it is I'm looking at."

Armin and Mikasa look at Eren's vaporizing titan and then at each other, and they are hesitant over giving an answer. Leo meanwhile stands up and rushes over to them.

"Armin! Mikasa!" He shouts as he arrives to them. He sees Armin holding an unconscious Eren. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm getting a little impatient here!" Levi says and now he sounds a little annoyed. But that doesn't keep Leo from running his mouth.

"Oh, you're getting impatient?!" Leo looks at Levi. "Don't you think you are a bit too fucking late?!"

The two stare at each other angrily and Armin and Mikasa can't find anything to say.

"Hey! Settle down!" Rico orders before jumping off Eren's titan. "Everything will be explained Captain, but for now, we have to make sure everyone makes it out okay."

Levi wants the explanation now, but he won't argue with Rico.

"Alright. We deal with the titans." He says. "But after that, you tell me everything."

He heads out to deal with the titans as other scouts start to appear. The cadets just watch in surprise.

"Get a move on, cadets! Make sure you get Eren back over the wall safely!" Rico gives out the orders and she goes away.

"Hey, wait!" Leo tries to tell her about his gas problems, but she doesn't hear him. Leo clenches his fist in anger.

"Okay, let's move out." Mikasa says as he grabs Eren to carry him. "I got him."

"Wait! I don't have gas!" Leo tells them and silence follows. They look at each other confusedly but then Armin has an idea and walks up to Leo.

"Hold still." He says as he starts removing Leo's gas tanks.

"W-what? What are you doing?" He asks as he lifts his arms up slightly. 

"Let him." Mikasa says and after a few seconds, Leo calms down and goes with the flow. A couple seconds later, Armin is finished.

"Okay, all set. You have gas now." Armin exchanged his gas tanks with Leo's. "Mikasa will carry Eren over the wall, and you are going to carry me." 

Leo is surprised by Armin's very quick thinking, but he knows that he shouldn't be. He nods in agreement as he drops his used blades.

"Okay, let's go." Mikasa says and she moves out. Armin wraps his arms around Leo's neck and Leo is starting to feel a little uneasy, but he manages to keep his cool. He flies off and then Armin wraps his legs around Leo's waist, which doesn't help Leo to feel calm in the slightest. He looks behind him at the sealed hole.

"Told you it was a good plan." He says after he faces forward. "We owe you one, Armin. We all do."

Armin is surprised by what Leo is saying and doesn't know how to respond. He stutters, which makes Leo laugh, and he wraps one arm around Armin's waist.

"I-I won't fall down. Don't worry." Armin says but Leo smirks at him.

"I'm not doing this because I'm afraid of you falling down." Leo doesn't say it that he is just giving Armin a hug, because he knows that Armin can put the pieces together. Luckily, he's right, and Armin blushes a little, and then hesitantly pulls himself closer to Leo, which surprises him a little."Uhhh..."

"I-I feel like I should... return the gesture." Armin sounds a bit nervous and his face is a little red, which amuses Leo a bit.

"You are too fucking sweet." He didn't want to say this out loud, but unfortunately, he did, and Armin hears him.

"What?" Armin looks Leo in the eyes, and Leo's face becomes red in an instant out of embarrassment.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Leo quickly saves the situation for himself and Armin decides to not bother him about this. After a few seconds, they are finally on top of the wall. "Alright. We're here."

Leo lets go of Armin and caresses the top of his head, which brings a smile to both of their faces. Mikasa places Eren on a stretcher and Armin goes to assist her. Leo grabs a flask of water and takes a big sip, before he feels his stomach growling. He puts his hand on his stomach and then sits down next to a box. He looks at Trost and catches his breath. This battle is over.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 17 preview: After the battle is over, and the dust has settled, the troops take a rest. It's in the history books. The Trost operation was a success. Mankind has won a battle against the titans. But, with so many casualties, celebration is out of the question. Especially when you lose a close friend.
> 
> Chapter 17: The Aftermath of Hell Itself


	17. The Aftermath of Hell Itself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys. I'm so sorry for the delay. I just wasn't feeling it. I had little to no interest in writing this chapter. But, it's done now, and it's relatively short compared to the others. I'll try to get the next chapters out sooner, but I don't make promises.  
> Merry Christmas! And happy birthday to Captain Levi!  
> UPDATE: The trailer for the second season got released. And it is FUCKING AWESOME! Can't fucking wait.

The air is cold. It sends shivers down the spines of the soldiers. Well, the ones who are still alive at least. Not many of them left standing. Many either died or got injured. Humanitiy's first victory was not cheap. It came with a great price, and they paid. Paid with everything they could. They know that. They know that very well. Leo looks to the right at the setting sun. A drop of sweat leaves his forehead and pours down his cheek. He wipes it away and he looks to the left to see Armin and Mikasa placing Eren on a stretcher. He closes his eyes and exhales as he thinks back to what happened. He sees the titans' faces. How horrible and terrifying they were. How cruel, and cold-blooded were the ways they killed his comrades. He thinks back to the way Ian died. Sacrificing himself to save Leo once again. Leo's head starts shaking as he tilts it down. He clenches his fist in anger. 

'How... How could I be so STUPID?!' He bangs his head on the box he's sitting next to. 'He died, because I was a clumsy idiot. How pathetic.' Leo opens his eyes and a tear leaves his eye. He wipes it away and he just stares at the ground. He was trying to save his comrade, but instead he had to be saved. And he got a Garrison officer killed. 'And... I even... forgot about it. Why? Why?! What is wrong with me?!'

Leo is holding back his tears and buries his head under his hands. He sits in a fetal position. His entire body starts shaking and the image of Ian's head landing on the ground keeps flashing in front of his eyes. He only manages to calm down when he feels someone caressing his head. He gasps a little and slowly looks up to see who's touching him.

"Are... are you okay?" It's Armin, holding a flask of water in his hand. "You look pale."

"Hah, you can say that again." Leo says quietly. Armin looks at him concernedly. He lifts up the flask and removes its cap.

"Here." He hands it to Leo. "You should drink."

Leo looks at the flask, then at Armin. He sees the concerned look on his face and he can't help but to chuckle a little. Armin is confused, but he doesn't have the time to think about it as Leo takes the flask from him.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." He says and starts drinking. He tilts his head back and Armin thinks that Leo's done drinking and he reaches for the flask, but Leo holds up his finger. He lifts the flask up to his lips again and takes another big sip. He wipes away the water from his mouth and gives the flask back to Armin. He coughs a couple and then looks at Eren. "How is he?"

"Um, he's passed out." Armin replies. "I hope it's not serious."

Armin sighs as he stares at Eren and Leo can't help but notice the way Armin is staring at Leo. On one hand he thinks it's great that Armin is concerned for his friend, but on the other hand, he thinks that this only proves the fact further that Eren and Armin are a couple. Leo bites his tongue to hide his anger over that thought. He shakes his head and hesitantly puts his hand on Armin's shoulder.

"I'm sure he's going to be fine, Armin." He says and Armin looks at him in a way that shows Leo that he is calmer now. He smiles a little.

"Yeah, I think so, too." He says. Leo smiles too and then caresses Armin's shoulder a bit before letting him go. He sighs as he stands up and walks up to Mikasa, who is crouching by Eren.

"Hey, Mikasa." He says quietly as he puts his hand on Mikasa's shoulder. She looks up at Leo but then immediately turns her attention back to Eren. Leo examines Eren's face closer which has strange marks on it. "What's with these?"

He moves his finger close, but is hesitant to touch them.

"I don't know." Mikasa says. "He didn't have them the first time he got out from the titan." Leo moves his finger across the marks and he doesn't quite know how to feel. "Be careful."

Leo frowns slightly at Mikasa in confusion and then goes back to checking Eren.

"Well uh... I, don't know what these are, surprisingly." Leo says with a little sarcasm. "But they  _are_ pretty strange. Hm."

Armin kneels down next to Leo but he is more concerned about him than about Eren. He keeps looking at him and Leo notices him in the corner of his eyes. He looks at the blonde and Armin gets a little a nervous and just looks at Leo, feeling a little embarrassed. Leo frowns a little at him, but decides not to say anything. He instead looks behind him and sighs before standing up quietly. He starts walking around slowly to look for the others as Mikasa looks at Armin, then at Leo, then back to Armin again. Armin looks at her too and he opens his mouth to say something, but changes his mind. Mikasa doesn't know what's gotten into him but she doesn't put too much attention on it. Leo stares at his hometown as he walks on the Wall and all of a sudden he hears some soldiers landing on it in front of him. He looks forward and sees that it's Reiner and Bertholdt. 

"Hey, Leo!" Reiner notices him and calls out to him immediately. Bertholdt keeps quiet. Leo confusedly stares at them as he walks towards them.

"What the hell?" He asks himself quietly. He can swear to God, he sent Marco to them. "Where's Marco?"

This question surprises the two as they look at each other in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Reiner asks and Leo can't believe he did that.

"W-what do you mean what I mean?!" He gets a little frustrated. "You two were slacking off on the rooftops, so I sent him after you to tell you to get a move on!"

"Uhhh..." Reiner looks at Bertholdt while Leo, who's getting a little worried, is waiting for an answer. "We did see him. After we talked, he said that he would come back here. Right, Bertl?"

Reiner looks back at Bertholdt again who gives him a surprised look. Leo raises his eyebrow and Bertholdt nods.

"So, he is not with you?" Leo asks for clarification.

"Yes. I mean, no." Reiner sounds a bit nervous and that makes Leo even more worried, and Reiner notices that on him. "C'mon, Leo. I'm sure he's fine. He'll turn up eventually. He's not the type to just wander off on his own."

"You said that he wanted to come back here alone." Leo says and Reiner stutters and hesitates with his answer.

"I-I know, but there wasn't any titans in the area." Reiner's statement doesn't calm Leo down in the slightest. "For God's sake, Leo. I told you, he's going to be okay. And besides, did you even looked for him?"

"N-no, I actually didn't. Yet." Leo rubs his nape and turns his head in a circle as his bones crack. 

"You see? We just have to wait and find everyone." Leo finally accepts Reiner's reasoning as something. He calms down a little. "And while we're on that subject." Reiner talks a little carefully. "Where's Eren?"

"He's over there. With Mikasa and Armin." Leo says after a little silence while pointing at the trio. "He's unconscious though."

"I'll check up on him nonetheless." Reiner says. "Well, later then."

He pats Leo on the shoulder as he walks past him to go to Eren. Bertholdt follows him but then is grabbed by Leo.

"What's wrong, Bertholdt?" He asks. "You're so quiet."

Bertholdt gives Leo a blank stare. They both feel very awkward, for different reasons. Bertholdt then sighs and removes Leo's hand from his arm.

"It's... it's nothing. Don't worry." He says. "Just this whole battle is just..."

"Too much?" Leo finishes Bertholdt's sentences as the latter took too long.

"Yes, that." He says and smiles awkwardly before moving away from Leo and joining the others.

Leo looks at them and is more than glad to see all of them alive. Especially Armin. He can't help but to smile every time he looks at him. But then he looks at Eren and his smile quickly fades away. He looks away a little flustered and kicks a stone which was laying on the ground. He takes deep breaths as he walks to the edge of the Wall and sees some scouts taking out a titan. They maneuver around like it's nothing. Leo finds it quite amusing.

"What are you smiling at?" Karl walks up to him and Leo shakes his head in surprise and stops smiling. Karl then notices the scouts. "Ah, I see."

"It just looks so easy when they do it, huh?" Leo asks as two scouts easily take down a titan by cutting its legs first then the nape.

"Nah, we were killing the titans by ourselves, weren't we?" Karl says while chuckling and then pats Leo on the back. "Easy peasy."

Leo looks back to see Karl walk away, then looks back at the scouts.

"Yeah... easy peasy." He sighs and watches the scouts for a couple more seconds, thinking about something crucial, when he suddenly remembers something. "Karl, wait!"

He runs up to Karl, who stops and turns around with a curious look on his face.

"What is it?" He asks.

"Have... haven't you seen Marco?" Leo asks but Karl just raises his eyebrow. "Around the same height as you, dark hair and freckles? Looks like your, generic nice guy?"

"Hah, funny description." Karl says before taking it seriously. "No, I haven't. I reckon he is a good friend of yours?"

"Yes, and he is missing." Leo says and then looks at Reiner and the others. "I thought that he would arrive with them, but... I was mistaken."

"I see." Karl says while staring at Leo in concern. He sticks to not saying anything about it though. He only pats Leo on the shoulders and walks off. Leo watches him leave and then he sighs before leaning on a box next to him. He then remembers that he is out of gas, so he decides to replenish it. An hour later, he meets up with the others.

"Leo!" He hears Jean behind him and he fells being grabbed. Jean turns him around. "Where's Marco?!"

Jean sounds desperate and Leo puts up his hands.

"I-I have no idea!" He says.

"Wait, Marco's missing?" Connie asks as he overhears the two. He walks over to them with Sasha. They stand in an awkward silence before Jean lets go of Leo while letting out a deep sigh. 

"Yes. Haven't you noticed?" Jean says a little offensively. 

"I thought he's with you." Connie says.

"Me too." Sasha speaks up, too. Soon after, Reiner and Bertholdt join them as well.

"Hey, guys." Reiner says as he stops next to Jean and Leo. He notices the look on their faces and he instantly realizes what's going on. "So... nothing from Marco, huh?"

He tries to be careful with his words but that just made Jean angrier.

"No, nothing! He's still missing!" He looks down at the ground and clenches his fists. He's holding back his tears. Leo slowly and hesitantly puts his hand on Jean's shoulder to comfort him but he pulls his shoulder away and starts walking away.

"Where are you going?!" Leo shouts after him.

"I'm going to find him!" Jean answers back and Leo doesn't think that's a good idea. He gasps and then runs to Jean and stops in front of him. "Out of my way!"

"You are not going after Marco!" Leo pushes Jean back.

"Why's that?!" Jean answers back with a push.

"There are still titans surrounding the city! It's suicide!" Jean doesn't listen to Leo and he tries to get around him but Leo repeatedly pushes him back.

"Jean! Stop!" Reiner walks up to them. "Leo's right. You can't go out there."

"So what am I supposed to do?! Just sit on my ass while hoping that my friend doesn't get eaten out there?!" Jean shouts at Reiner but no one stops him. They let him let out some steam.

"He's a smart fella, Jean." Leo says. "He wouldn't get into a fight with the titans on his own." 

"Yeah, don't worry, Jean." Connie pats Jean on the back. "Everything will be alright."

"I bet he found shelter in on of the houses!" Sasha says cheerfully. Jean looks at her and then at the others and looks down at the ground. 

"I hope you're right." He quietly says. Leo smiles and pulls him into a side hug.

"I know we are." He says while caressing the top of Jean's head.

It takes two days for the Garrison and the Survey Corps to wipe out the remaining titans in Trost. While killing them, they managed to capture two titans for further tests to get more information on the titans. Humanity is still in the dark after all. Eren, still unconscious, has been sent to a prison cell for the time being as he is set for trial. The others are assigned to clean the city of the dead bodies. The past two days were difficult for them, especially with Marco missing. No one knows where he is or what he's doing. Everyone is starting to freak out completely, especially Jean. Leo's sitting at a table with Karl, drinking tea and eating bread.

"Ah, tea. My favorite." Leo says after downing his tea in one clear sweep. 

"You might, you know, wanna leave some for me?" Karl complains as Leo pours tea in his cup.

"Relax, we'll get another jug if it's empty." Leo says as he stirs the hot tea with a spoon. Karl takes a bite out of his bread and a sip from his tea. "Now that I think about it, shouldn't you go back to your division? On the north?"

"Mhm... I should. Crap." Karl accidentally spills tea on his shirt. Leo sighs and then gives him a napkin. "Thanks, but this won't come out with a napkin."

"It at least sucks the fluid up a bit." Leo drinks carefully from his tea and it almost burns his tongue. "Damn! Why is it so fucking hot?"

"You downed it the first time." Karl says as he folds the napkin.

"Yeah, but it was sitting on the table for five minutes." Leo blows on the tea and gives it another stir. "Anyway, back to topic."

"Oh yeah. So I was saying." Karl drinks carefully from the tea and puts the cup down on the little plate. "I should, but they seem to be not looking for me, so... I'm fine." Leo lets out a simple 'ah' and goes back to his unfinished bread. A few minutes pass before Karl brings up something that is close to Leo. "I'm sorry for Thomas." Karl's words makes Leo stop eating and he feels his hunger going away by the second. "I-I'm sorry for bringing this up out of the blue, but--"

"It would have been better if you just leave it alone." Leo says as he crosses his arms on the table. "To be honest, I even forgot about him."

"What?" Karl raises his eyebrow at Leo's statement. "You weren't good friends?"

"No, that's not it. We were friends." Leo informs Karl, but he's starting to feel a little strange. "It just... some many things happened recently. The Colossal Titan, Eren, Armin."

"Ar-Armin's the blonde kid, right?" Karl asks and Leo nods. "What happened with her? I saw her earlier and she looked okay."

Karl accidentally uses 'she' for Armin but Leo is too much in his thoughts to notice it. Karl has to kick him to bring him back.

"Oh, um..." Leo tries to bring up a good reason to get out of this. "Nothing. It's none of your concern anyway."

Leo stares blankly at the table and Karl can't help but stare at his friend. He knows something's bothering him, but he is afraid of asking because he doesn't want to anger Leo. He just quietly takes a bite out of his bread. 

'With each passing day, I think more about him.' Leo grabs his arms tighter as he thinks about Armin. 'What's wrong with me? Why am I realizing this now?! Argh, I'm such an idiot!'

"It's great to see that you found new friends here." Karl says to lighten the mood a little, and he is kinda able to do it, as Leo brings his head up to look at him.

"Thanks." He says. "Don't  _you_ have friends on the north?"

"A couple, yes." Karl says like it's nothing.

"Huh. You're pretty calm about it." Leo says and Karl just makes a half smile. Another minute passes.

"So, are you joining the MP?" Karl decides to bring up another important subject, which thankfully helps Leo get to his senses a little more. 

"Um... If you would've asked me two days ago, I would've said yes without hesitation." Leo twiddles his thumbs. Karl doesn't like the way he's talking. "But now... I really don't know."

"Are you serious?!" Karl snaps at Leo a little. "The only reason you joined is to use the ODM-gear in the MP. What changed?!" Leo opens his mouth to speak but Karl interrupts him. "Look. The MP is where the good life is. I know that. Do you want to get through that horror again?! I know we held our own, but still! It's madness! I am NOT going back out there!"

Leo doesn't answer him right away. Instead, he takes a deep breath and leans back in his chair. He looks to his left and sees an instructor walking towards them, but he doesn't put too much attention to it. But he should, because that man has come for one of them.

"Syxton!" The instructor yells and surprisingly, _both_ of them quickly stand up. Leo gapes at Karl and spreads his arms in confusion and Karl shyly scratches the back of his head. "Both of you are Syxton?"

"What the hell, Karl?!" Leo's frustrated as he doesn't understand why Karl is joking around.

"I-I needed a last name." Turns out, he's not joking. Leo can barely find his words.

"And, _my_ name was the one you chose?!" Leo eventually lets out some words.

"What else was I supposed to choose?" Karl gets defensive and the instructor is losing his patience.

"Silence!" The instructor orders and they both keep quiet. "Karl Syxton! What are you doing here?! Your place is on the north!"

"S-sir, I--"

"Shut it! I have no time for cheap excuses!" The instructor pulls out a piece of paper and gives it to Karl. "Here! This is a pass! Give this to the guards by the outer gate at Stohess! They will escort you to where you are assigned!"

Karl takes the paper while staring at Leo who can't believe what he's just heard. Karl takes one last quick bite out of Leo's bread.

"Well, good luck to you." He says. "I hope to see you in the MP, Leo. I'm counting on you."

And with that, he turns around and starts running to find a horse for himself. The instructor looks at Leo with his eyebrow raised.

"Are you two brothers?" He asks.

"No, we are not." Leo quickly answers back. "He is a street kid. Never had a last name."

"I see." The instructor grabs Leo's cup and drinks the tea from it, which angers Leo a bit. "Ah, delicious." He puts the cup back where he picked it up from. "You should get going then, Syxton. The cleaning of the bodies already started. Stop slacking off."

"Yes, sir!" Leo salutes but the instructor doesn't return the gesture. 

"No time for salutes, cadet." He says in a harsh tone. He walks away and Leo sticks his tongue out at him behind his back. He eats his bread and turns around to look at Wall Rose.

"Marco. Please. Be safe." He says while rubbing his nape.

He walks over to the officers at the inner gate. He looks around to find the others but he can't see them. He takes out his hand grip and heads over the wall. He lands on it and looks through the scenery. The city looks like hell. Well, it's been a place for hell. Leo lets out a deep sigh and jumps off the wall. He lands and the sight terrifies him. Rows of bodies, everywhere. All put on stretchers, covered with blankets. Some even have blood spots on them. He slowly walks forward. He's shocked by what he's seeing. He just hopes that he doesn't find Marco under one of the blankets. He wants to see him alive. He walks along and sees even more bodies. These ones haven't been gathered yet. They are just lying on the ground like they are nothing. Bit to pieces, crushed to death, insides torn out. Leo remembers when someone was cut in half in his arms. The thought sends shivers down his spine.

"Hey, you!" Someone calls out to him. He turns around and sees a woman standing there with a rug on her face and in her hand. "Put this on. Don't want to catch something."

"T-thank you." He takes the rug and the woman walks away after a nod. Leo puts the rug over his mouth and ties it tight. He places down his gear next to the wall, thinking he won't need it for now. He then walks pass the bodies, not knowing what to do. There's just so many of them. Wherever he looks, he sees at least one. It's horrifying. He gulps and he feels sick. He always though he would be tough at situations like this. Turns out, it's not really true. He turns the corner and the stuff he sees will never be unseen. A titan vomit. A group of cadets are standing around it. One of them is Sasha. Leo notices her and walks up to her but he can't get his eyes off the vomit.

"What... is this?" Sasha asks in a scared tone. She is in shock.

"Titan vomit." One of the members of the Garrison answers. "They don't have digestive organs, so when they are full, they throw up, and keep eating."

"Hey." Leo puts his hand on Sasha's back. She looks at him and is more than glad to see him.

"Leo." Sasha gives him a hug, which at first surprises Leo, but he returns the gesture. He rubs her back while he stares at the vomit. He sees the people inside and he just knows that he's going to have nightmares about that. "This... this... I can't even..."

"Shhh. It's okay. It's okay." He whispers in her ears and gives her a small kiss on the head. This manages to calm her down a bit.

"We have to cut it open." The Garrison soldier says and after hearing that, one of the other people gags and then turns around to throw up. "Keep it together. Anybody's got a knife?"

"I have." Leo says. He lets go of Sasha and lifts up his left leg to take out his knife. The Garrison soldier reaches for it but Leo pulls it away. "I'll do it."

They stare at each other for a few moments and then Leo focuses on the vomit. He gulps before taking a step towards it. The smell makes him almost puke. He coughs and has to concentrate not to throw up. 

"This is sick..." Sasha whispers to herself as Leo lifts up the knife. He waits a few seconds, takes a deep breath to hold, then slams the knife into the puke ball. The knife keeps getting stuck so Leo has to use a good amount of strenght to cut it. The smell just becomes more and more disgusting and now someone else throws up, too. Leo gags also, but he manages to keep it in. He cuts as much as he can and a couple of bodies fall out of the ball. Leo puts his hand on his mouth and turns away.

"Good God..." The Garrison soldier gags, too. "We won't be able to identify any of them... Just hope you don't have a friend in there."

Leo thinks of Marco being there and he quickly brushes it away. He's still in the belief that he is alive. One can hope. He turns back to look at the bodies and he knows that he isn't done yet. He gulps and takes a deep breath. The foul stench is enough to make him physically sick. He walks to the ball and cuts it open to make the other bodies fall out as well. He gags again and now bends over to really throw up. He doesn't though, even when he's trying. He crouches down and Sasha looks at him in concern. She kneels down next to him and caresses the top of his head in comfort. Leo takes long breaths and looks at Sasha. He can't see her smiling under the rug but he knows she is. He smiles too and rubs the top of her head. 

"Have you seen the others?" He asks as he cleans his knife.

"Everyone's gathering bodies." Sasha says.

"Anything about Marco?" Leo asks but Sasha shakes her head. Leo now becomes very worried. "A-are you sure? No one found him yet?" Sasha tries to speak but she is too scared and sad to do so. She stutters and Leo sees it's pointless. "Shhh, Sasha, don't worry." He puts his hands on her shoulders. "Sorry for pushing it."

"N-no... no problem. Sorry." This situation brings the worst out of people. Leo's never seen Sasha sad in his time in the Cadet Corps, and seeing her like this breaks his heart.

"Hey, help me a little, will ya?" The soldier orders the others. "And you, knife guy. Get some stretchers. We need them." 

"Right." Leo stares while keeping his eyes on Sasha. He smiles again and puts his knife away.

"You know what? You two, go with him. Should be faster." The two cadets let the bodies go and they start walking back to get stretchers with Leo. He takes one look back at Sasha, who is now getting the bodies out of the ball. She is on the edge of crying. Leo and the two boys walk together when Leo suddenly notices Jean. At first, he doesn't see anything wrong, but then he notices the strange way Jean's eyes are widened. And the way he walks is concerning, too.

"Hey." He says to the other two. "Go ahead. I'll catch up with you." He doesn't wait for them to respond as he jogs to Jean. "Hey, Jean." Jean doesn't even look at Leo. He completely ignores him and walks by him. "Jean?" Leo grabs him by his arm. Jean is just staring at the ground with widened eyes. His gazing makes Leo panic a little. "Jean, what's wrong?"

"M-Marco... is..." Jean starts to speak, but he can barely get the words out.

"What? What about him? Did you find him?" Leo doesn't understand the situation. Jean can't get himself to look at him. His eyes are twitching and he's entire body is shaking. Leo lightly taps Jean's face and he moves his head up to look into his eyes. Jean is on the verge of crying. Tears are gathering up in his eyes. 

'Oh no...' Leo is finally starting to realize what's going on.

"D-dead... Marco... is dead..." Jean eventually breaks down and collapses in Leo's arms. Leo gapes in shock and he is frozen in place. Jean is crying and he doesn't say a thing. He starts shaking and he can barely breathe. Leo caresses Jean's head with his shaking hand. Leo is so in shock, his legs start to feel like jelly and he falls on his knees with Jean. They don't let go of each other and Jean cries in Leo's arms. Meanwhile, the two soldiers are walking by with the stretchers and one of them notices Jean and Leo.

"Look." He taps his comrade on the chest. He looks at them and doesn't think much.

"Emotions are running wild, it seems." He shrugs. "Tough times." The other one doesn't find those words very appropriate but he doesn't say anything. They walk back to the vomit where Sasha and the Garrison soldier has already taken out the bodies. They are in a bad shape, even if they are just corpses. Limbs missing, one of them is even missing its head. "We got some stretchers."

"Ah, good." The Garrison officer stands up and dusts his pants. He looks at the two cadets and he sees that Leo is missing. "Where's the third guy?"

"He's over there, crying with someone." Sasha hears this and she begins to worry.

"W-wait, crying? With who?" She stands up, expecting something terrible.

"I don't know. Looked like Jean." One of the cadets answer and Sasha puts her hand on her mouth as she gasps. She knows why they are crying. "What's wrong, Sasha?"

She doesn't answer and she immediately rushes over to Jean and Leo. Jean is a wreck and Leo is just one step away from becoming one, too. She slowly walks over to them and kneels down.

"Jean..." She puts her hand on Jean's head and hugs him. They embrace each other while crying over the loss of their friend. Both Sasha and Leo knew that there was almost no chance of Marco surviving, but they remained hopeful. Seems like it was all for nothing. None of them says a word as they cry for minutes which feel like hours. Except Leo. He just can't shed a tear.

"I... I want to be alone." Jean whispers to his friends. Leo moves away from Jean a little and they look at each other. "Please."

Leo's heart is almost broken after he hears the way Jean talks. He struggles to keep himself from crying and he lets go of Jean.

"Okay." He struggles to speak.. He doesn't say anything more. Jean slowly stands up and stumbles away as Sasha stares at him. She wipes her tears away, then looks at Leo, who is angrily clenching his fist.

" _Drinks on me tonight, Marco."_

Leo snaps and punches the ground. Unfortunately, he punches a rock and it cuts his hand. He groans in pain as blood flows out of the wound. 

"Are, are you okay?" Sasha says in concern.

"Yeah... yes, I'm... fine." Leo lifts up his hand to take a closer look at the wound. It's nothing major, just a scratch.

"I... can't believe he's... gone." Sasha stares at the ground and Leo wipes away the blood with his sleeve. She waits for him to say anything about it, but Leo doesn't want to talk about it.

"I'll go and, take a look around elsewhere." He says and he pats Sasha on her head. "Be strong, and safe. And, keep an eye on him, would you?"

Leo poins at Jean, who is leaning against a building, crying. Sasha nods, Leo then stands up and starts walking.

"Don't you want me to come with you?" Sasha asks.

"No." Leo answers back immediately without even looking at her. A couple hundred meters away Mikasa and Armin are cleaning up as well.

"Let me help." Mikasa says as Armin struggles to drag one of the corpses on the ground. He is too shocked to do anything correctly.

"T-thanks." He says and they lift the person up and put him on a stretcher. Armin grabs a blanket and covers his fallen comrade. "This is horrible."

Mikasa looks at Armin in concern and kneels down next to him.

"It had to be done." She says as he caresses Armin's shoulder. If this is bad, they just have to wait 'till someone tells them about Marco. 

"I-I know. Still..." Armin takes a look at the body but quickly looks away. Then he sees someone walking towards them. They don't know who it is until he gets close to them. Armin gets a good look on him, then recognizes his friend. "Leo?"

"Hi." Leo says in a quiet voice. Armin gets a little worried, as he sees the sadness on Leo's half hidden face.

"What's wrong?" He asks and Leo stares at him quietly. Mikasa stands up and lightly shakes Leo.

"Are you alright?" She asks and Leo gently pushes her arm away. Mikasa and Armin doesn't understand why he acts like this. 

"Marco is dead." With no hesitation, and as raw as it gets, Leo explains what's going on. This shocks both Armin and Mikasa. Mikasa handles it fine, but Armin puts his hand on his mouth as he gasps. "Jean, was the one who found him."

"How is he?" Mikasa asks and Leo finds it a bit strange that Mikasa asks about Jean.

"Crying. Like Sasha." Leo says as he wipes away more blood on his hand. He notices Mikasa staring at his wound. "I uh, punched a rock in anger."

Mikasa slightly raises her eyebrow. She then turns around to look at Armin, who stares at the ground with a sad look on his face. She walks over to him and puts her hand on his shoulder. He looks at her and they share a hug. Leo stares at them and is now way closer to crying. He swallows and looks away. He looks at the house next to them. It's his house. Armin notices him staring at it and lets go of Mikasa. Leo shakes his bloody hand and starts walking past Armin and Mikasa towards the house.

"Where are you going?" Armin carefully asks. Leo stops in front of him.

"If you're curious about how my house looks, this would be the perfect time to take a look." He says without looking at Armin.

He then notices that the window is broken. His mouth opens as he gasps a little and he doesn't even wait for a response. He quickly walks up the stairs and examines the broken window. The sill is bloody and there's a very bad stench coming out of the house. Leo coughs and almost throws up. It smells like a dead body. He gets his key hidden behind a rock in the wall. It's a very useful secret spot. He unlocks the door, and before he opens it, he takes out his knife. He slowly opens the door and the stench hits him again. He steps inside, placing his hand on his mouth. 

"Hello?! Anyone here?!" He calls out. He stops to take a look around. He doesn't here anything. He looks down at the ground and sees a path of blood leading to the couch. He follows it and sees two feet hanging out on the sofa. He lifts up his knife and kneels down. "Hey!" He yells, but the body doesn't move. He then takes a deep breath and walks closer to the body, with slow steps. The stench is getting stronger and stronger with each step, and Leo knows that this man is surely dead. He stands up and walks next to the sofa. He was right. There's a dead soldier lying there. "Holy hell." He sighs and puts the knife away. He stares at the body, not knowing what to do. He then walks closer to it, kneels down and examines it. He looks familiar to him. Leo lifts up his hand that is covering his face. He is shocked by what he sees. It's the Garrison soldier who he talked with before the operation. The one with a child. A girl. Leo starts shaking and gulps. "I'm sorry, comrade." He places his fallen comrade's hand the way it was. Then he notices that his other hand is missing. "Guess this is what ended you. Lost too much blood." Leo sits on the table placed in front of the couch. He stares at the soldier, then looks at the floor and puts his hands on his head. He scratches his face and sighs. "What a hellhole."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 18 preview: This is it. The big decision, that changes the lives of the cadets. They have to choose which regiment they will join. Leo is unsure and is not happy to see his friends around him wanting to join the Survey Corps. He has to make a choice: Join the Military Police and stay with his childhood friend, or follow the person he loves.
> 
> Chapter 18: Life or Death?


	18. Life Or Death?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for the SUPER LONG delay, but I was dealing with a severe case of lacking interest. And school was in the way too. And this delay was bound to happen at some point anyway. But, I'm back with this new chapter, so I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

The smell of the blood of his fallen comrade makes Leo's stomach turn. He though he would get used to it by now, but no. He can't, and probably never will. How can you get used to that? It just hits you unexpectedly. It's so unnatural, so disgusting. Leo gags and coughs as he looks around from where he is sitting. The house is dark, cold and gives him the creeps, even though it's  _his_ house. He takes another look at the body lying on his couch. He sighs and tilts his head down.

"Why is this happening?" He wipes his face and rubs the back of his neck. He lets out a deep breath as he looks around the living room. "Hah. I mean... what did I expect?" He tilts his head down and starts chuckling. "We humans were always full of ourselves. Look where it got us."

"Is that what you really think?" Leo hears Mikasa's voice coming from the front door. The cold and harsh tone in her voice sends the message to Leo that she is not happy with what he said.

"Oh, hey. Didn't hear you coming in." He says before standing up. "And uh... don't pay attention to what I say. I was just rambling and thinking out loud."

"I see." Mikasa says after a short, awkward pause and then she looks back at Armin who walks into the house, too. He gags a little as he smells the stench of blood. 

"What..." He coughs. "What's that smell?"

Leo and he look at each other and Leo just calmly points at the body lying on his couch.

"Poor soul bled out." He says. "At least, he died in a cozy environment." Leo walks to the fireplace and starts a little fire going in seconds. "Let's lighten the mood a bit, shall we?" He is mostly talking to himself while Mikasa and Armin are just staring at him. Then they take a look at each other and Mikasa notices the concerning look Armin has on his face. She reaches out to him and caresses his shoulder while giving him a slight nod, which manages to make Armin feel a bit better. "This has been a... very bad uh..."

"Day?" Armin hesitantly finishes Leo's sentence, but Leo clicks his tongue.

"Week." He corrects Armin. "The graduation, this attack... just, everything. It's like, fate has a personal grudge against us."

"Do you actually believe in that sort of thing?" Mikasa asks as she walks to the fireplace to look at a portrait of Leo from his younger years. 

"No, just... sometimes shit happens that you just can't make up." Leo's looking down at the floor while he speaks so he doesn't notice Mikasa staring at the portrait. Armin leans forward to see what she is doing and she grabs the picture. "That's a pretty good portrait."

Leo says that without even looking up. 

"You look different here." Mikasa says as she looks at Leo.

"Shorter hair, maybe?" Leo says while staring at the side. There's an awkward tension in the air as Mikasa just stares at Leo.

"Maybe." She puts back the portrait back on the fireplace. Armin is concerned over Leo, and Mikasa notices it on him, but she doesn't say anything. She looks back and forth between the two boys. The silence is making her feel slightly anxious. Although, she does know that Leo isn't the one to be the emotional type. Nothing breaks him. If something does, that lasts only a few moments. Leo's shaking his leg as Armin is just grabbing his own arm. "We should go, guys."

"Go without me." Leo throws his hand up in a quick motion. "I... need some time."

He sounds troubled, and that's not a surprise to his two friends. Mikasa doesn't say anything and she just walks out of the house, while Armin is still staring at Leo. He feels very sorry for him, especially since Marco was a good friend to the both of them. He reaches out to him but Leo tilts his head down and that makes Armin change his mind.

"Y-you know... if you, need anything... we--"

"Don't." Armin can't finish that sentence after Leo cuts him off. He looks back at him. "I'm fine, really." He says as he grabs Armin's hand. He awkwardly smiles at him. "If you want to comfort somebody, comfort Jean. He's the down feeling really down after what happened to Marco."

Leo stares back at the ground. Armin takes a deep breath and starts walking outside, but stops in front of the door to look back at the body.

"Should we..." He feels uncomfortable and scared while looking at the body. Leo looks at him, then at the body.

"Don't bother." He says. "I'll carry him away, when I'm done here."

"O-okay." Armin says and he puts his hand on his mouth because he nearly vomits. He quickly walks outside to catch some fresh air. Leo quietly sits on the table. He looks at the place his two comrades were standing. He lets out an angry and annoyed groan, and facepalms.

"What is wrong with me?" He complains to himself. "This is not me. What am I doing?" He buries his face in his hands. He sighs as he thinks about the things that happened a few days ago. The Colossal Titan appearing, the battle, hundreds upon hundreds of dead bodies, Eren being able to turn into a titan, Armin and his will to save his friends, Leo realizing he has fallen for him. "Oh no..." And that's when it hits him. That is what's bothering him. A drop of sweat moves down his cheek and he lets it fall to the ground. "No, no. It's not... It can't be. I ca--  _we_ can't. It's not the right time!" Leo clenches his fist and slams it onto the table out of anger. "I can't be... in love with...  _him."_

Leo scratches the top of his head as he angrily lets out a groan. He quietly sits and then remembers back to two years ago, when they were in the forest. Armin was sleeping, and Leo was watching him.

_'Well, he is... somewhat cute.'_

"I'm pathetic." Leo tilts his head down in embarrassment. "For  _two_ years, I felt this, and I didn't realize it. Hell, maybe even longer." He takes long, slow breaths and just at how much of and idiot he is. "It took him standing up to his friends for me to... Jesus. Fuck!" Leo punches the table again. This whole awkward situation is eating him up inside. He takes a deep breath and slowly exhales it, shakes his head and leans back to lie on the table. "I'm a... we're both...  _guys._ " He stares at the ceiling then quickly sits up and groans in annoyance. He scratches the top of his head, and even slaps it multiple times. "Why am I thinking about this _now?"_

This is getting to him slightly, but after a few minutes, he is able to clear his mind a little. Everything is quiet around him. He can feel his heart beating faster as more seconds pass. He looks at the portrait Mikasa was looking at. He remembers back to that day. That day, when everything changed, when titans showed the humans who the superiors are. It happened all over again. Leo predicted this, and deep down he regrets joining the military, but there was no going back at that point. He grabs the portrait and takes a closer look. He was sitting on a chair when the portrait was done. He had much shorter hair, was leaner, and more naive. Leo's grip tightens around the picture as he is getting filled with rage.

'Everything... I said... happened...' He is on the edge of tearing up. He bows down and tries to stop himself from going mental. From snapping again. But then, suddenly Eren comes into his mind.

"It's... It's all YOUR fault!" He shouts in anger and he almost throws the portrait on the ground but stops himself midway.

He screams at the top of his lungs to let out his frustration and then runs out onto the balcony. He doesn't notice that the balcony is destroyed though due to his anger, so he accidentally runs off of it and lands hard on the ground, in his backyard. His vision is blurry, but clears up in a couple of seconds. The portrait is laying in front of him but then he focuses on another thing: The destroyed grave of his dog, Mike. He gets up as he feels the pain in his knees and head. He walks over to the grave and kneels down next to it. It is completely destroyed. Leo can even make out the footprint of the titan that stepped on it. He moves his hand through the dirt and picks up a piece from the destroyed wooden cross, which was placed on the grave.

"That MP guy made this for you." Leo remembers back. "Phill, I believe?" He carefully puts it back as he stares at the remains of his former pet. "You know, I've never actually thanked you. I don't exactly know what happened that day but, I can tell at least that you protected me." Leo pauses and gulps as he is close to break down again. "Thank you. I mean it." He then starts laughing quietly. "I'm talking to a dead dog." He sighs. "A new low for me."

Three days later, the remaining members of the 104th, except Eren and Leo, are having lunch in the mess hall. Armin and Mikasa are talking about the upcoming trial.

"A debate over Eren?" Mikasa asks. "What for?"

"I'm not really sure but..." Armin says. "It might be about what they plan on doing with him."

"And what does that mean?" Mikasa's a little impatient at this point, but Armin hesitates to answer.

"It means..." He looks down at the table, terrified by one thought. "They might not let him live."

As soon as she hears that, Mikasa stands up with a scared look on her face. Armin looks up at her and is worried but they don't have much time thinking about that as a Military Police Officer enters the mess hall.

"Cadet Mikasa Ackerman, Cadet Armin Arlert, and Cadet Leo Syxton! Hop to!" He yells the order and the two look up to him.

"Sir!" Mikasa signals to the officer about their presence, while Armin looks around to find Leo, who is not there.

"You are ordered to attend and act as witnesses at today's trial!" He says and just when he is about to leave, he notices Leo's absence. "Where's Syxton?!"

Mikasa raises her eyebrows in suprise but then looks around to be even more surprised about Leo's lack of presence. 

"He's not here, sir!" Armin says and he is a little afraid of what the officer would say. He just frowns at them and lets out an annoyed growl.

"Don't tell me he is dead!" He says.

"N-no, he is not." Armin quickly confirms. "But... we haven't seen him in a while."

"Well, then you better find him!" The officer says as he turns around. He then stops in the doorway and looks back at the two cadets. "But, if you can't find him, I'm sure you two will be enough for the trial."

The officer then leaves. Mikasa turns to the right to look at Jean.

"Have you seen Leo?" She asks him, but with his mouth being full the only thing Jean can do is just shake his head. Mikasa then looks at Connie and Sasha, who are sitting in opposite to Jean. "And you?"

"No, no we haven't." Connie answers but Sasha is too busy eating lunch, and she doesn't even understand what's going on. "Don't expect an answer from her though. But I don't think she saw him either."

Mikasa just sighs as she gets annoyed a little.

"We should probably ask Reiner. He'll definetly know where Leo is." She says. Armin is thinking with his finger on his chin and then it suddenly hits him.

"There's no need to that." He says, surprising Mikasa. She looks at him and he looks up at her, too. "I have a good idea about where he is."

Leo puts down the last piece of wood on the pile he has in his garden. 

"Done." He says as he cleans the dust off his hands.

In the past three days, since he came home, Leo's been on a task to clean his house. Fix the backyard, the balcony and the burial site of Mike. He repaired the stairs of his balcony using tools and the damaged wood. It's not much, but it does the trick. He 'borrowed' some dirt from the backyards of the neighbors around him to fill the hole where Mike lays. His body was still there, with his bones cleaned from the rotten flesh.  He made a new cross out of Mike's dog house. Leo's not the crafting type of guy, but he does have some imagination. After staring at the pile of wood, which he doesn't know what he will use it for yet, he turns around to get a good luck at the backyard. The sight satisfies him. He then hears footsteps coming from the balcony.

"You do know you're trespassing, right?" He asks before turning around to look up at the two people who came to visit him. "What brings you here?"

"We are supposed to be on trial this afternoon." Armin informs him. "All three of us."

"Trial?" Leo raises his eyebrow. Then he thinks about it for a second. "Is this about Eren?" Armin nods. "Ah, I get it." Leo puts his hands on his hips and looks at his dog's grave and back at Armin. "You know... I would, but..." He is breathing heavily and is sweating like a horse. "I'm... very..."

He can't finish his sentence as he falls on his knees and then passes out, much to the surprise of both Armin and Mikasa.

"Leo!" Armin freaks out and quickly runs down the stairs, almost falling down, to check on Leo. Mikasa just casually walks down at a normal speed, not really worrying about Leo. "Quick, Mikasa! Help him! We, we need to take him to the infirmary!" Armin struggles to lift Leo up and he is acting very strangely, according to Mikasa at least. As Armin gets Leo off the ground, barely, she puts her hands on Armin's shoulder. "Mikasa?"

"Look at him, Armin." Mikasa says in a calm voice. Armin doesn't understand her first but when he looks at Leo, he begins to understand. "There's nothing wrong with him, he is just exhausted. C'mon, let's put him in a bed, so then he can wake up comfortably."

"Y-yeah... r-right." Armin says and Mikasa helps him bring Leo up the stairs and to his room. "Sorry for freaking out."

"No problem." She says. "I understand."

Armin doesn't quite comprehend why Mikasa said that but he doesn't put much thought into it. They carefully undress Leo from his dirty uniform and put him into his bed. Armin slowly puts the sheet over him and caresses the top of his head, which Mikasa finds a bit strange, she doesn't really know why though.

"So, I guess it's only the two of us going to the trial, right?" Armin says while staring at Leo.

"Yes." Mikasa says as she looks at Armin. He keeps staring at Leo and Mikasa slowly starts walking away. She stops in the doorway and waits for Armin, who hesitantly follows her.

The nightmares never seem to stop. They always come back. Come back to haunt him, to haunt Leo. He's standing in the middle of nothingness. The great white. Everywhere he looks, he doesn't even know how far he can actually see. Smoke rises up from the ground, it blinds him. The ground starts shaking. He opens his eyes after he regains his sight, and he is faced with the horrifying stare of the Armored Titan. As it opens its giant jaw, Leo reaches for his sword, but when he grabs it, it turns into air. Leo gets scared, he doesn't have anything to protect himself. He turns around and starts running, but can't get anywhere. He looks back at the titan and when it's about to eat him, Leo quickly wakes up and sits up as he screams in fear. He is in a pool of sweat, and his breathing is heavy. He never got used to these, and he probably never will. He feels a shiver going down his spine. 

"Fucking hell..." He caresses his forehead. "On one of these days, I might actually have a heart attack over these nightmares." He feels a bit colder than usual, which he finds strange, then he looks down and is surprised to see that he is in his underwear. He's wearing nothing less. "What the...?" He looks to the left where he sees his clothes scattered all over the floor. He scoffs at the sight. "Couldn't you at least fold them or something?" He sighs as he stands up and walks to them. He stops and looks around, then he takes a sniff in the air and he smells a terrible stench. He checks again and realizes that he is the one smelling. "Geez... I fucking _reek_. Lucky that I haven't passed out yet."

He sighs again and heads straight for the shower. He just throws his underwear on the pile of unwashed laundry. They've been there for weeks now, but Leo is too occupied to care. He thinks about what happened a few days ago. What Karl said to him the last time they talked.

_"Are you serious?! The only reason you joined is to use the ODM-gear in the MP. What changed?!"_

Leo's fist clenches as he thinks back. The more time passes, the angrier he gets. He can't get this thought out of his head.

_"What changed?!"_

"A lot of stuff." He finishes the shower. He finds a new underwear and then walks up to his room, slowly and carefully. His anger is getting in his way of thinking straight. He can't control it. "A lot of FUCKING stuff!"

He punches the wall so hard it makes him bleed. The same way he did five years ago. But this time, he doesn't even flinch. It hurts, but Leo's numb to it. He's treating it like it's nothing. He sighs and wraps his hand into a towel. He sits down, and with his leg shaking like crazy, he tries to figure out what's next. He has two options: Either join the Military Police, which he what he wanted originally, or go to the Survey Corps, where he could possibly die right away. He never considers the Garrison, he is not really fond of the cannons, and with the idea of keeping the walls intact. Then he thinks of Armin and what he said a few days back.

_"I'm joining the Survey Corps. With Eren."_

"FUCK! WHY?!" He tilts his head down and almost pulls his hair out. "Fucking Eren! It's all HIS fault!" He stomps the ground as he lets out an angry groan. It's a tough dilemma. "We agreed with Karl and Jean... we are joining the MP. Karl didn't change his mind, and Jean won't neither. And there's Reiner, too. But..." He can't get Armin out of his head. Especially that moment when he stood up for his friends against the Garrison. When he fallen for him. "God. Fucking dammit!" He thows the bloody towel away. Luckily the bleeding stopped, so he won't have to worry about that. "I'll convince him. And if I can't then... then... then to hell with him!"

The fire burns through the night, lighting the way for Leo who's coming back to see what's going on with the others. He knows why there's a fire. The fallen is being burnt. Fallen comrades, brothers and sisters, lovers. All who fell while trying to defend Trost. There were so many of them. At least their sacrifices were not in vain. Leo watches with a blank stare as he makes his way to the fire. He sees his friends, except for Armin and Mikasa. And Eren, of course.

"Hey, guys." He walks up to Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie, who are surprised by his presence.

"Where were you?" Reiner asks. "Haven't seen you for days."

"I was at home." Leo says. "Taking care of stuff."

Leo stares at the fire and he doesn't know what to say. Somewhere, in that pile, there's Marco. Someone, who got killed and nobody knows how, or when. Jean doesn't even know if the bone he has in his hand is Marco's or not. Leo looks to the right to see Connie crying and the horrified look on everyone else's face.

"What stuff?" Reiner asks as he stares at the fire, too.

"Oh, you know." Leo rubs the back of his neck. "Cleaning up the town, and repairing the damage at home. A titan stepped on my backyard. But if you were so concerned about me, why haven't you come to see me? You know where I live."

"I didn't want to bother you." Reiner explains. "I figured you wanted to be left alone." Reiner is not wrong there. In the past day, Leo was an absolute wreck. He was trying to come up with something that would convince Armin into not joining the Survey Corps, but Leo knows it is almost a lost cause. Armin is stubborn when it comes to this kind of stuff, Leo knows that too damn well. "You know, tomorrow is the day when we have to make a choice, about the regiment we want to join."

"I know." Leo sighs, with a little anger behind it which Reiner notices. 

"Are you sticking with the MP?" Reiner's question surprises Leo.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Leo turns to him. "I mean, almost all of us are going to be there. And I'll try to convince Armin to join the Garrison."

"Almost all? Who do you mean by that?" Reiner is making Leo a little anxious.

"Who do you think?!" Leo says through his teeth to not raise hos voice. "You, me, Sasha, Jean. The whole gang top ten, except Mikasa and Eren."

"Actually, Leo..." Reiner doesn't know how to say this to Leo, but he doesn't get to finish it.

"Hey, guys. Question for you." Jean breaks the silence. Everyone looks at him and he turns to them with a scared look on his face. "So have you decided yet... which regiment you're gonna join? I've made my choice." Jean is close to breaking down, but he manages to keep it together. "It'll be rough but..." He holds up his fist to his face and Leo is starting to get even more anxious. "Dammit..." Jean takes a deep breath, before he lets everyone know that he made the decision. "I'm gonna join the scouts!"

Jean starts crying and everyone looks at him in shock, especially Leo. His jaw drops and he starts shaking. He slowly walks up to Jean and reaches his arms out to him but he doesn't touch him. He can't believe what he just said. He slowly puts his arms down, and as he does it, in the same pace his anxiety turns into anger. He thinks about the way Reiner was talking to him, and he is fast enough to put the pieces together.

"No..." Leo turns to Reiner, with tears ready to come out of his eyes. "Don't..."

"I see you realized what I was hitting at." Reiner says and motions towards Bertholdt with his head. "Him too."

"Are... are you..." Leo is on the edge. In the blink of an eye, three people he thought he will have by his side in the Military Police are joining the Survey Corps. "Are you fucking serious?!" He shouts at Reiner and starts looking back and forth between him and Jean. "I... I can't..." Tears leave his eyes and his heartbeat quickens. It's almost like it wants to jump out. Leo slowly starts backing away and he is about to have a panic attack. The others don't say anything, they just watch him. Leo then takes a deep breath and lets them know exactly what he thinks. "Fine! If you want to die, be my FUCKING GUEST!"

Leo angrily starts walking away. He is losing his mind over this.

"When did you last replace your shaft?" A Military Police Officer asks Leo as he undergoes a check-up with every cadet.

"Last night." Leo says with a blank look on his face.

"Alright, he's clear." Says the woman standing next to the officer after going through her notes.

"Okay. Who's next?" They walk along, checking everyone. Last night, two titans that were used as test subjects got killed. The Survey Corps wants to find out who did it, and fast. But that is not what Leo cares about. Not in the slightest. He can't even look at the person standing next to him.

"Just give me one good reason to not punch you in the face." He's talking to Reiner, who sighs.

"C'mon, Leo. You can't be--"

"Y-you know what? Forget it." Leo cuts him off and he looks at Jean. "Just... _why?"_

Reiner opens his mouth to say something but then changes his mind to think for a second. Leo shoots a glaring glance to him, which makes him think a lot faster.

"It's the right thing to do, Leo." That did not make Leo accept Reiner's decision.

"The right thing to do." Leo repeats it quietly to himself. They stand in silence for a few minutes and then Reiner decides to bring up a counterargument.

"Weren't  _you_ the one having doubts a few days back?" He says and Leo is noticeably surprised by that question.

"What do you mean?" For the first time today, Leo looks at Reiner.

"When you were talking to your friend. Karl, I believe is name was?" Leo sends a questioning look to Reiner. "I heard you guys talk."

Leo opens his mouth to speak, but just snarls instead. Reiner decides to not say anything.

"This is not about me." Leo angrily says and is close to shouting. "This is about you guys being fucking stupid. And besides, I thought that almost everyone will join me in the MP. I said that last night, didn't I? But what happens? Two of my closest friends decide 'Hey. Dying is cool. Let's follow Eren there.' You fucking people."

"You sound ridiculous." Reiner says and he is keeping back his laughter, but Leo doesn't find this very funny at all. 

"Yeah, right.  _I'm_ the one being ridiculous." This is the last exchange they have for this topic. 

After everyone was checked, the cadets gather in the auditorium. It's almost time. Almost time for the cadets to make the biggest choice in their lives. Almost time for Leo to possibly say goodbye to his friends. He is sitting next to a wall in a fetal position, angrily glaring at the ground with his head tilted down. He hasn't said a single word to any of his friends.

"Huh? Of course I'm scared. I'm not an idiot here." Jean says after Sasha asked him if he is afraid.

"Uh... but why are you..." Connie doesn't really get Jean's logic.

"Because I  _am_ scared of the titans, and I want to do something about it." Jean says and Connie is just more confused. "But listen. I understand that joining the scouts isn't for everybody. I won't guilt trip you. Unlike a certain suicidal bastard."

"Eren, huh?" Connie tilts his head down. "Guess he's already been a scout for a while now, hasn't he?"

Armin's just listening to the guys talk. He is more concerned about Leo, though. He looks around for him, and he eventually notices him sitting alone.

"What's wrong with Leo?" He asks while pointing at the brunette. Jean looks at Leo but he doesn't know what to really say.

"What do you think?" He says. "After he heard me saying where I will enlist, he freaked out. Then Reiner, and Bertholdt, too. I guess he's either going to the MP, or he will go mentally insane."

Armin feels horrible after hearing that. He looks at Leo and he is worried to hell about him. He's thinking about going to him, but before he could move, Annie starts walking to Leo.

"A-Annie?" The guys find it strange. It seems out of character for her to be concerned over Leo. Leo hears footsteps getting louder and louder, then they stop. He feels a shadow moving over him. He looks up to meet Annie's gaze. 

"What do you want?" Leo is a little annoyed. "Don't tell me you are joining the scouts, too."

"No, I'm not." Annie says with a bland and bored voice.

"Hah, good. I thought that I'm the only sane person here." Annie sits down next to Leo as he talks, and Leo finds it strange. "What are you doing?"

Annie stares forward at the guys, at Leo's friends, before explaining what she's doing.

"You care about them, right?" She asks. Leo can't grasp the logic behind that question.

"What kind of question is that?" He looks up at Annie. "Of course I care. Why do you think I'm a wreck?!"

"Then... wouldn't it be better to... be with them?" This question almost sends Leo over the edge. He doesn't understand why Annie is acting like this.

"What are you even saying?" He turns slightly to her with his entire body. "They are  _your_ friends as well, and you are joining the MP. Isn't that a little hypocritical?" Annie doesn't say anything. Why should she? She thinks what Leo is saying is nonsense. Leo starts to get a little impatient but he starts to think about what he said and why Annie is silent. Eventually, he puts the pieces together. "Wait. You don't consider them to be friends?"

"Why would I?" Annie says. "They mean nothing to me."

"Even after what happened?!" Leo raises his voice and gains a few eyes on them. "How can you say that?!" Annie doesn't say anything, making Leo feel betrayed. He looks forward and at the ground then has a realization. "Am I... not your friend either?" He slowly looks at Annie, and she doesn't even show any emotion. She just blankly stares forward, without even flinching. Leo takes a deep breath and clenches his fist. "Fuck you too, then."

"You are just as stubborn as he is." Annie says after a few moments of silence. She stands up and Leo is confused about what she said.

"W-wait. As he is? Who do you mean?" Annie starts walking away while completely ignoring Leo. "Who do you mean?!" He quickly stands up. "Annie?! ANNIE?!"

"Cadets! Fall in! Head over to the platform! Time to make your choice! Move it!" As the sun falls, the night and the moon take over. Fires are lit up next to the podium on each side. The cadets gather in a pile, having mixed feelings. Some feel fear, some feel pride. Some, are nearing insanity. Like Leo. Commander Erwin steps forward, with pride and confidence.

"Good evening!" He begins his speech. "I'm Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps. Today, you will choose your regiment. Let's cut to the chase here. The scouts need you. Need all the warm bodies we can get. After the recent titan attack, you now know first hand the horrors of which they are capable, as well as the limits of your own skill. However, this battle's aftermath gave humanity a new chance for victory. I refer to Eren Yeager." The mentioning of Eren suddenly fills Leo with unexpected rage. He grabs the back of his head and bows down slightly. "After selflessly risking his life, he has proven his beyond a doubt his unwavering loyalty to our cause. Hope lives, in him. Eren didn't just help to deter the titan invasion, he's offered us a mean to unveil the truth of their origin." This comes as a shock to everyone, even to the scouts. They didn't know that the Commander will come public with this. This even manages to calm Leo down and he slowly looks up in shock. "Intel suggests that the basement of Yeager's home in Shiganshina holds a vital secret regarding our enemy. We will form an expedition to find this secret. Find it, and use it to break free from the titans'es tyrannical one hundred reign once and for all."

The cadets are surprised, and shocked. Whispers are going around, everyone is trying to figure out what this means. Leo, on the other hand, is trying to figure out the logic behind this.

'Wh-what? How? The... the basement... Is... Is Eren in on this? If he is, then why didn't he say something?' Leo remembers back to everything Eren said back in the academy. 'It all makes perfect sense. But then... why act so incompetent in the time of need? Is he pulling our legs? If he is then... everyone in the Survey Corps... is in deep danger.'

This is not what Leo needed. He has too much things going on in his head, but Erwin is not done there.

"Before we could reach the aforementioned basement in Shiganshina, another problem must be dealt with. We must first retake Wall Maria. Of course, this is much easier said than done." Petra grabs a map and with Mike, they open it for the cadets to see. "Now that the gate of Trost has been rendered inaccessible, we will be forced to stage future expeditions from the Karanes district further east. Thus the battalion route we spent the last four years establishing is now completely useless to us. Over the course of those four years we suffered losses of sixty percent. Sixty percent in four years. That is a horrifying figure. One month from now, we will conduct a scouting expedition outside the walls. Recruits from among your ranks will be expected to take part. I estimate a third of them will die, after four years, most will be dead. But those who endure will be among the most capable soldiers alive." The cadets are terrified after what Erwin said, and Leo is panicking. "Now having heard the state of affairs, whoever still wishes to put their life on the line and join us, remain here. But first, ask yourself. Can you give your heart? Can you give everything for humanity?!" Everyone is scared, or at least concerned. This is not what they were expecting. "That is all. Those who want to join other regiments are dismissed."

That is all they needed. After a few seconds, the cadets start to leave, and Leo is starting to feel some hope.

'Yes, leave. All of you. Discourage them.' His entire body is shaking. He looks at Reiner, who is standing next to him, but he doesn't look too fazed. Leo is shocked by that, he can't even speak. He is feeling screaming his lungs out, but he can't do it. 'Why?! For fuck's sake, why?! Don't be such a fool!' Leo looks around to see who is not moving and is shocked to see Krista standing in one place. 'Are you kidding me?! Krista?! You too?!' He looks at Ymir, who is not moving either. 'Ymir! Say something! Do something! That is your fucking girlfriend!'

Leo is feeling hopeless. Everyone he cares about is not willing to move, even though it's hard for them too. But Leo needs to make the decision quickly, because time is running out. He starts weeping, and puts his hand on his mouth. He slowly lifts his shaking leg and steps backwards. Reiner notices it, and looks at him.

"I... I guess..." Leo says through his tears. "This is final goodbye..."

Reiner doesn't say anything, but the further Leo gets, the more concerned he is.

'Wait. Is he serious?!' Reiner suddenly doesn't get what Leo is doing. Leo takes one last look at everyone, when he looks at Armin. He doesn't turn around, doesn't even know the struggle Leo is having. If only he did...

'I... I'm sorry...' He turns around and starts walking away, leaving his friend. But suddenly, the image of the Colossal Titan looking over the wall comes into his mind. This makes him stop. 'W-why? Why am I...' Then he remembers how Eren transformed. The same lighting bolt which appeared when the Colossal appeared. 'If that... the Colossal... is a  _human.'_ Then he remembers the Armored Titan too. 'And the Armored... there's a high chance that it is a human as well. If that's the case then... they are both among us.' Leo looks up at the cadets who are leaving the area. 'Maybe one of them... or...' He looks back at his friends. He doesn't want to think the worst. He looks away and slaps his head. 'If this is true... then...' Leo thinks back when he found his dad under the rubble. 'The titan that killed my father... was a human. And if Eren is in on this, then...' He clenches his fist. 'I... I have to...' He thinks of Armin, and what might happen to him. 'I will always regret it. If I leave, then... the guilt will kill me. I have to... no... I _must_ protect him!'

His head starts to shake, and he is the only one standing midway. His friends don't look behind them, so they don't understand why Erwin is still waiting. But the Commander sees what's happening, and understands it. He patiently waits for Leo to make a decision.

"Oh, fuck me!" Leo shouts as he looks up at the sky and turns around. He walks back as the others look back to see their friend joining them. He stops next to Reiner, and Erwin is proud about what he sees in front of him.

"I ask you." He says. "If you were ordered to die, could you do it?"

"We don't wanna die, sir!" Jean answers immediately.

"Haha. That's funny." Leo says quietly with widened eyes, staring not even ahead, but slightly down at the ground.

"Of course." Erwin cracks a light smile. "Let us hope that you don't then. You, who stayed, you're now one of us! Allow me to welcome you into the Survey Corps! This is a genuine salute, soldiers! Together we give our hearts!"

Erwin salutes, and everyone follows his example.

"Sir!" They all shout, and surprisingly, Leo is the loudest. He is staring at Erwin, with complete terror in his eyes.

"Everyone..." Armin is feeling relieved.

"Joined the scouts. This is so stupid." Jean is expressing his opinion, something Leo can agree with.

"This is scary. I just wanna go home." Sasha is crying.

"Oh man, what the hell?" Connie seems like he doesn't care anymore. Krista is close to crying too.

"If you're gonna keep crying, then don't stay." Ymir says some logic. Reiner looks at Leo, who looks like someone who is dead inside.

"Either you were pulling our legs there big time..." He says. "Or... you were completely serious."

Leo is too much in his thoughts to hear what Reiner is saying. Although he wouldn't even comprehend it.

"Those of you standing here have worked through your fear. You have proven yourselves courageous." Ewin says. "Each one of you has my respect."

It's official. Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, Jean Kirstein, Connie Springer, Sasha Braus, Reiner Braun, Bertholdt Hoover, Krista Lenz, Ymir and _Leo Syxton_ are joining the Survey Corps. They have chosen the path of hope. The path of glory. The path of strength. The path of terror. The path of destruction. The path of... death.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 19 preview: One month. That's all he has left. One month before possibly the last day of his life. And in that one month, a revelation happens, which Leo is far from ready for.
> 
> Chapter 19: Struggle


	19. Struggle

The newly joined recruits in the Survey Corps are given one last night in their barracks before they begin their training as scouts. Leo sits in his bed with his head tilted down as he thinks about what he has done. He grabs his head and starts scratching it. Jean walks into the room and mostly ignores him. He pays attention to him only after Leo lets out an annoyed groan.

"What? You're not having second thoughts now, are you?" Jean asks in a harsh tone. Leo doesn't react much, just scratches his face. He looks up at Jean and the two stare at each other as Jean's waiting for a response. He doesn't get one though. "You lasted about a few hours."

He turns around and takes off his uniform to get into more suiting clothes for a sleep. Leo stands up and takes a walk in the room while Jean just ignores him. He can't think about anything clearly because when he thinks about one thing, another pops into his head. He stops to stare through the window. Luckily for him, it started to rain, and that always calms him down. The sound of the water falling down, it is music to his ears. 

"Quite the weather, huh?" He asks, trying to make small talk with Jean, but he finds that weird.

"Huh?  _That_ is what's on your mind?" He sits on his bed, pulling the blanket over his legs. "You look like you are pissing your pants. Look, if you want--"

He can't finish his sentence because Leo suddenly yells as he kicks Jean's bed in anger and something falls down from Marco's bed. Leo keeps his leg on the bed as they stare at each other. Leo with a blank expression, Jean's is a little concerned and frightened.

"Don't try to tell me what to do." Leo leans into Jean's face. "You are in no position to do that."

"Look who's talking." Jean fires back, referencing the fact that just the day before, Leo was trying to convince everyone to not join the Survey Corps. Leo doesn't respond and instead just walks away and out the room. Jean just watches him and when he leaves, Jean remembers of that something that fell down from Marco's bed. The sound of the impact came from behind the bed. He checks and sees a little booklet on the floor. He raises his eyebrow in surprise as he's never seen this book before. He reaches down and picks it up. There are letters in the center of the cover: M.B.

'So... this is probably Marco's. What's this? A diary?' Jean realizes what this means. Marco's everyday life is in this booklet. What he thought, what he liked, possibly all of his secrets. In this tiny piece of paper collection. All of it can be revealed to Jean in a moment. 'I... I shouldn't...' He slowly lowers the booklet down on his bed, but stops. 'Then again... if there was someone he'd want to read this, it would be me. No, that's pretty selfish of me.'

He sighs and climbs up the bed to put the booklet back but he stops midway because he hears some footsteps getting louder and louder. He panics a little and decides to hide the book under his pillow. A few moments later Armin and Connie walk into the room.

"Hey, Jean." Connie greets him and Jean just waves at him. Armin looks at Leo's bed then around the room and is surprised to not see him.

"Where's Leo?" He asks Jean.

"Went outside." Jean points towards the door and Reiner and Bertholdt walk into the room, too. 

"Why are you pointing at me for?" Reiner asks in a sarcastic tone. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Reiner." Jean sighs. "I was just pointing for Armin about where Leo went."

"Oh, I see." Reiner chuckles a little. He walks past Armin and he sees the look on his face as Armin stares at Leo's bed. "Hey." He slightly taps Armin's shoulder. "Something's wrong?"

"Oh, uh... what? N-no..." Armin tries to sound convincing but he is all over the place. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"Yeah, we should probably get some sleep." Connie says as he sits on the top bed. There's a little silence before Connie decides to wonder about what happened a few hours ago. "So that's it, huh? All of us joined, except Annie, right?"

"Yeah." Reiner nods and Bertholdt starts to feel a little uneasy. "She is the one with a little sanity left, as Leo would probably put it."

"That's crazy." Connie says. "I mean, what changed his mind? Did Annie say something to him?"

"That's doubtful." Jean looks up at Connie. "The way he was yelling at her, that probably wasn't it."

"M-maybe because he..." Armin hesitates to get this thought out. "Cares about us this much, right?" He looks around at the other boys but they don't give him a response. "Right?"

Still nothing.

"Maybe. Who knows?" Reiner sighs. "I guess you just have to ask him, when you get the... cha-cha..." Reiner gets interrupted by his own yawn. "Ah... chance." He playfully smiles as he lies down in his bed. "But we should get some sleep. Tomorrow our training starts immediately."

"Alright. Goodnight, everyone." Connie says and lies down.

"Night." Bertholdt says, who is already half asleep. Armin sits down on his bed and stares at the ground.

"Goodnight." He says quietly as Jean stares at him for a few moments before putting his head on the pillow. He feels something hard under it and realizes that the book is under there. He takes it out, stares at it for a few moments then puts it next to the bed after a sigh. 

"Goodnight." He says.

"Goodnight." Reiner finishes the series of good wishes for the night. Armin's the only one who's not lying in his bed. He is sitting and staring towards the door, thinking about what Leo's reason might be for coming with them.

"I'm a fucking idiot." Leo's standing on the porch of the building, leaning on the wooden railing, looking forward, watching the rain quickly falling towards the ground. He extends his arms to feel the rain and even throws some on his face. He sighs and tilts his head down. He keeps staring at the ground as his train of thoughts is seems to be going on a trip down messed up lane. "Armin..." He looks up to the sky, thinking about what he signed up for, and why. "Don't make me regret this. Please."

Armin's lying on the bed with his hand on his forehead, staring at the bottom of the upper bed, Eren's bed. He remembers back when Leo literally pressed him against the wall in anger when Armin revealed to him that he will join the Survey Corps. The anger in Leo's eyes, the concern, the rage. The feeling of powerlessness was written on his face. Armin could see and feel it. He almost tears up at the memory. He turns to the side, away from the door and closes his eyes. After a short time though he can hear someone coming in. He instantly opens his eyes and slowly and carefully looks up and behind him to see Leo taking off his uniform and putting on a black shirt and white shorts. Those are the clothes he usually sleeps in. Armin stares at Leo and while he buttons up the shirt, he stops because he has a feeling of someone looking at him. Leo slightly looks ahead and Armin flinches when Leo starts to turn his head towards him. Armin's quick to react though and manages to put his head down and turn away from Leo. The brunette looks at his 'sleeping' friend and just shakes his head with a sigh. He lies into the bed and falls asleep relatively quickly as Armin just stares at the wall, thinking. But the more time passes, as he thinks, he falls asleep.

In the morning, the boys are all ready to get transported to the Survey Corps' training grounds where they will learn everything they need about the Long Range Scouting Formation. Everyone leaves the room, except for Jean, who is still having mixed feelings about the Marco's book. After a few moments of him holding it, he sighs and puts it in the inside pocket of his coat, thinking that he  _might_ need it later. The recruits gather in front of the barracks to wait for a wagon to pick them up. Jean's the last one to join them but luckily for him, no one questions why he was late. Everyone is silent, they have nothing to say. Sasha still manages to get some ration into her belly though. 

"So uh... everyone had a uh... good sleep?" Connie tries to break the awkward silence but just made the entire situation a lot more awkward. No one says anything and Connie is left alone feeling a little embarrassed. "I guess not."

The wagon soon arrives and a scout orders the recruits to get on. They take their seats and only Sasha is the one who managed to distract herself, even when it's only for a brief period of time. A lot of them are just staring at either the floor or at the road, but Leo... he has his eyes on Armin, who is sitting the deepest into the wagon, while Leo is sitting at the edge. Armin then looks towards Leo and there's a second of awkward eye contact before they look away at the exact same time. Leo then slowly looks back at Armin again and just shakes his head with a sigh and stares at the road. They soon arrive at the castle where the scouts have set up a base for themselves. 

"Alright, recruits! We're here!" The driver says. Everyone's hesitant a little but then they eventually get off. Leo helps some of his friends step down, even Armin, and he sends a small smile to say 'thank you'. Leo nods then he takes a look at the base. 

"A castle, huh?" Reiner says as he stares at the edifice. 

"You know, I heard that this was a Survey Corps Headquarters before, but they abandoned it." Connie says as he walks next to Reiner.

"Yeah?" Leo raises his eyebrow. "Well, it seems like they missed it. Damn, that's a pretty castle. Who would leave such a place?"

"Wow wow, Leo. Never knew you were this into architecture." Reiner crosses his arms and smiles at Leo.

"I have a taste for beauty, Reiner." Leo says without looking at him.

"Yeah. I bet you do." The blonde whispers and quietly chuckles. Leo just rolls his eyes and smiles a little, but hides it from Reiner. 

"Recruits! Fall in!" A scout shouts."Split into large groups! You will begin your training in a few minutes!"

After those few minutes, the members from the top ten of the 104th, Armin, Krista and Ymir are assigned under a high-ranking scout.

"Attention!" He shouts and the recruits salute. They are lined up next to each other and the scout has his horse by his side. "I am Section Commander Ness, and this girl is my horse, Charlotte." He taps the side of his horse's head. "Fair warning. She is really into pulling hair, so you'd better watch out if you don't want to go bald. We're glad to meet you." And just like if Charlotte understood him, she bites the bandanna on Ness' head. "H-hey! Stop that you freak!" Even though the bandanna could fall off easily and then Ness could just get a new one, he keeps it on, meaning he is pinned down by his own horse. "Can I get a hand here, you guys?!"

"Just let go of the bandanna, sir." Leo suggests.

"N-no! I'd rather not!" Ness says and he tries his hardest to pry open Charlotte's jaw.

"But..." Leo tries to reason with him but then notices the bald spot on Ness' head and then it instantly clicks for him. "Oh. Now I get it."

"I got you, Section Commander." Reiner steps forward and then pries open Charlotte's mouth with his bare hands. Ness is relieved and the others are impressed by Reiner's strength.

"Wow, Reiner!" Connie's eyes widen. "That was badass!"

"Heh. Don't mention it." Reiner's feeling proud. He taps Ness' back and steps back in the line and him and Leo smile at each other.

"You are going to brag about this for a while, aren't you?" Leo whispers with a smirk on his face.

"Not really." Reiner crosses his arms. "It was nothing."

He sends a sarcastic smile towards Leo and he just scoffs.

"There we go." He says and quietly chuckles.

"Okay, thanks for that." Ness adjusts the bandanna on his head. "So, where was I? Oh, yeah. I introduced myself, and Charlotte was nice enough to demonstrate what I meant a few seconds ago, so now it's your turn. What's your name?"

He points at Jean.

"Jean Kirstein." He says while keep saluting.

"You?" Ness continues to point.

"Ymir." Ness then just silently starts moving his hand across the line of recruits.

"Krista Lenz!"

"Armin Arlert!"

"Mikasa Ackerman."

"Sasha Braus!"

"Bertholdt Hoover!"

"Reiner Braun!"

"Leo Syxton." The rookies all introduce themselves to Ness and he is just staring at them in amazement.

"I think we will be a pretty good team." He smirks and then leads Charlotte back to her stable. "Alright. Follow me. There's a couple things you must learn. From now on, you will be under my supervision."

"Sir!" The rookies yell and they follow Ness. They've been standing in front of a stable where the horses were looking at them. The rookies don't think much about them but they do look at them occasionally while they are following Ness, especially Leo. He frowns at the horses then stops when he meets the gaze of one of them with a white mark on its forehead. He slightly raises his eyebrows and walks to the horse. They stare at each other and it snorts at him when he caresses its face.

"Hey, Leo! Stop flirting with the horse!" Reiner shouts after him. Leo gets annoyed by him and kicks a rock in the stable so then it bounces up into his hand and then throws it towards Reiner. It hits him straight in the forehead.

"Ow! What the hell, dude?!" Reiner is pissed.

"Shut the hell up." Leo says and then ignores Reiner to look at the horse again, especially the white mark on its face. "Interesting..."

"That is one of our finest horses." Ness says. "And one of the few remaining male ones. We mostly use the females but he is one rowdy stallion."

Leo keeps rubbing the white mark as he finds it rather unique. It kinda looks like a star. Then the horse moves its head and licks Leo's hand which he does not appreciate.

"What the hell?!" Leo quickly pulls away his hand covered in saliva while the horse neighs and Ymir, Reiner, Connie and Sasha laugh.

"Look at that! You might have your personal horse!" Ness says. "It seems he likes you!"

"Wow, Leo! Nice going!" Ymir shouts while barely containing her laughter. "You take on the titans head on, but get scared of a freaking horse?!" They keep laughing and Leo gets really annoyed, mostly because there are no more rocks next to him. But then he smirks and while Ymir is laughing, and since she is the closest, as he walks past her, he wipes his hand in her coat. That makes Ymir instantly shut up. "H-hey! What the hell, you jerk?!"

"Y-Ymir! Calm down!" Ymir tries to go after Leo but Krista holds her back as the other three joke birds are still laughing. 

"Enough, already!" Ness orders the others to calm down. Settle this once we are done. I don't want to deal with your nonsense."

They keep walking forward after Leo looks back at Ymir and smirks at her. Soon, they enter a building and a classroom where there's a strange drawing on the board. A half circle, with shapes spreaded across within it. The recruits take their seats, with Leo on the front row with Mikasa and Armin. Ness steps onto the podium in front of the board and grabs a large wand. 

"Okay, let's not waste any time, since it's precious." He says while a scout hands out books to the recruits. "This, is the Long-Range Scouting Formation." The recruits raise their eyebrows in surprise and confusion. "As much as it would surprise you, this formation shows how we move outside the walls. Developed by Commander Erwin Smith, the key to this formation is to avoid titans. That's right, avoid them. With this, we can survey the territory better, while avoiding combat, and possible casualties. It consists of the following sections: Forward scouts, the scout support squad, the relay squad, the wagon defense squad, command, the wagons, standby and the rear guard. All of these positions' purposes are listed in the books. I won't tell everything, since you don't have to know what every position is for. Feel free to read them if you want to know."

Leo was paying attention with half ear as he was reading the book. He never knew that the Survey Corps used a special formation to  _avoid_ battle. He flips through the pages quickly to get a slight understanding of it.

'This is quite the strategy. It seems like Commander Erwin is a real thinker.' He puts the book down and leans on the desk.

"You rookies will be positioned here." Ness steps to the board and points at the spot with his wand. "Between the wagon defense squad and the scout support squad, on both side respectfully. Now, the way the formation works is very simple. When we are outside and the commander gives the signal, we spread out into the Long-Range Scouting Formation. In a half circle, facing forward. Keep in mind, as you spread out, make sure that you don't lose sight of one another. If something happens to one of you, someone can be there to help. So spread out evenly, that is important. All of you will receive spare horses along the way as well, in case someone might need a new one. Once the formation is complete, you keep an eye out for titans and flare signals. You can bet that the lucky ones in the front row will see a lot of titans. The second one comes into line of sight, lock and load. Alert your nearest comrades with a red flare signal. They in turn will alert  _their_ nearest comrades by doing the same, and so on. Once the commander feels he has a decent read on the titans' position, he'll be firing off a  _green_ smoke signal. At the sight of one, the formation must reroute accordingly. The fewer titans confronted head on on our route, the better. We'll need all the bodies we can spare. The name of the game is evasion. Also keep in mind that this isn't a fail proof strategy. The terrain is massive, plenty of spaces for the enemy to hide in ambush.  _Also_ keep in mind that we will be dealing largely with normals, titans who's behaviors are predictable. But abnormals don't work like that. If you see one, then fire a black smoke, then engage it."

"W-wait, sir!" One of the rookies stands up. "But you said the whole point is to avoid combat, so... why would you want me to engage an abnormal?"

"Oh, come on! Think for a second, will you?" Leo looks up and back at the standing rookie. "An abnormal is unpredictable. For all you know, one could actually make its way towards the commander. You don't know what to expect from them. That's why they must be eliminated immediately."

Leo and the rookie stare at each other and the rookie feels a little embarrassed. He decides to not say anything and sits down.

"Like Leo said." Ness smiles. "Again, if you encounter an abnormal, fire a black flare signal and kill it. Now, I suggest that you wait for someone, since taking out an abnormal is difficult. Now, last but not least, the flares." Ness walks to a table where there are flare rounds put next to each other. "There are a total of six different colors of flares. Red is for when a titan is spotted, as I mentioned before. Black is for abnormals, green is used by the commander, purple is for emergency, for example if you are grabbed and can't get out, or you need another horse. Blue means an order to retreat, and yellow lets you know if the mission is terminated, whether it was a success or not. Any questions?" He looks through the recruits and none of them has anything to ask. "Right then. I hope all of you got that, because it is literally a matter of life and death. Now, follow me. It's time to get some new piece of clothing." Ness chuckles and walks to the door as the cadets stand up but then he remembers something. "Oh yeah. One more thing. All of you will receive copies of the formation tomorrow, which will show your exact positions. Individually, I mean."

Ness finishes and Leo walks forward to get a closer look at the board.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Armin asks as he walks next to Leo.

"Yeah, it is." Leo says while crossing his arms. "The first day in the Survey Corps and I'm already impressed."

"You don't have to be impressed. You just have to be alive." Reiner walks past them. Leo rolls his eyes as he is getting a little annoyed with Reiner.

"Okay, what's the matter with you today?" He asks Reiner who just raises his eyebrow at him. "Did you have a funny dream or something?"

"No, I wish though." Reiner chuckles. "I'm just trying to keep the mood lightened."

"Well, you have a very strange way of interpreting 'lightened'." Leo walks next to Reiner and stops but then suddenly feels Ymir stomping on his feet. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You dare to ask that question?" Ymir leans into Leo's face. "You wiped saliva on my coat."

"You--" Leo tries to punch Ymir but Reiner grabs his arm before it can even go halfway. Ymir taunts Leo with laughing as she walks away. He lets out a painful grunt as he grabs his feet. "Son of a... that hurt!"

Leo rubs the hurting spot as he lets out a painful hiss. Ymir got him with her heel with full force. He can't even stand on it properly, but he does manages to limp to the door. Everyone else leaves but Ymir then adds insult to injury when he walks back and smiles at Leo.

"Do you want me to kiss it?" She says in a sarcastic tone and Leo is ready to rip her head off. "Or... should I ask Armin?"

Leo gets even more frustrated as he stares at Ymir's face who has a big smile on her face, but he just sighs and shoves her away while limping away. Ymir is a little disappointed but then taunts Leo again with her walking past him very quickly while humming joyfully.

"Bitch." Leo whispers to himself. Ymir does hear him but she doesn't bother to turn back and argue. Ymir quickly catches up to the others while Leo is taking his time. But then, he does manage to catch up. They walk for a few minutes, in the meantime, Leo is reading the book they gave them about the formation.

"Hey, Leo. Read something interesting?" Connie taps Leo's back. "Because you've been staring at that like it's homework, or something."

"Oh, this?" Leo shakes the book. "No, just... this is  _really_ fascinating. I mean, this whole formation is about evading the titans. With this, we might even have a decent amount of chance at survival."

"Are you serious?" A recruit walking in front of Leo asks. "Didn't you hear the commander? It is possible that a third of us will die on the first mission."

"Yeah, he's right." Connie says. "Even with this, I don't think--"

"It's different." Leo cuts Connie off, who is taken by surprise by that. 

"Wh-what do you mean?" He asks.

"It's simple." Leo takes a deep breath. "Remember back. One of the scouts said to the commander that he told too much, that none of us are going to stay. Judging by that, it was probably the first time he revealed those stats about the dead recruits. That means that the ones before us had no idea what they were in for. But we do. Hell, we even fought the titans in Trost. Don't you think that gives us a little edge? A little more information than the previous recruits got? I think that's why Commander Erwin revealed such classified information to us. He wants soldiers with guts, given the fact that we finally have something that can turn the tides of the war. I know it sounds harsh, but let's face it, we will have it better than those who died on their first mission. We will be extra cautious. I mean, at least... I hope."

"Hey, Mikasa! Armin!" Suddenly Eren's voice is heard from behind and everyone gets surprised, and Leo has mixed emotions.

"Eren!" Especially Mikasa. She and Armin turn around instantly. while Armin is happy to see Eren, Mikasa is still concerned, and her typical overprotective self.

"Man, am I glad to see you guys!" Eren runs up to his childhood friends. while Armin is happy to see Eren, Mikasa is still concerned, and her typical overprotective self. 

"Eren. Have they mistreated you in any way?" Mikasa grabs Eren's hands. "Like subjecting you in any cruel experiments? Or some sort of mental anguish?"

"N-no, not at all." Eren answers and he is obviously confused by Mikasa's sudden worry and questions, but deep down, he understands.

"That shorty took things way too far." Mikasa stares daggers into the ground as she thinks back at the trial, and the way Levi was beating the crap out of Eren, which Leo found rather amusing when he first heard about it. "I will make him pay for it one day."

"H-hold on. You mean Captain Levi?" Eren asks as Levi is just staring at them, not giving too much crap. He just casually walks away with his horse.

"Hey, Eren!" Connie greets Eren as the others walk back to Eren.

"Long time no see!" Sasha says.

"Oh, hey guys! You're all here!" Eren looks at his friends then he realizes what their presence means. "Whoah, wait. If all of you are here then does that mean... you're saying that you guys are joining the scouts?"

"Well yeah, why else would we be here?" Connie asks the obvious question.

"Of course." Eren slightly smiles.

"Hey." Leo steps out from behind Reiner into Eren's line of sight. "Don't leave me out."

Leo and Eren stare at each other and Eren is clearly confused and surprised by Leo's presence.

"Wait. You too?!" Eren asks, and he doesn't know if he should feel angry, or glad. "But why? Didn't take you for the brave type."

"Hah! Great!" Leo laughs. "Not even ten seconds and you are already pissing me off!"

"Guys, please." Armin holds his arms up. "Keep peace here."

"I'm trying, Armin." Leo says as he stares at Armin and the tension between Leo and Eren is laughably obvious to everyone around them, but they know that this is not the best time for a fight.

"So then Jean, Annie and Marco went to the Military Police, then?" Eren asks, not even knowing his friend's fate. Everyone gets uncomfortable when they hear Marco's name, especially when Jean walks up behind Eren. He turns around to see another surprise. "Wait a sec. You joined too?"

"Marco is dead." Jean doesn't sugarcoat it, he instantly informs Eren, no matter how sudden it is. 

"He what? Wha-what are you saying?" Eren is genuinely confused. "Marco's not dead. You're just kidding around, right?"

"I wish I could tell you he died nobly, or heroically." Jean looks down at the ground. "Truth is, I don't even know how he went out. He died alone. There was no one there to see it happen."

"Marco's dead..." Eren whispers and he is completely stunned by shock. Everyone else is sad that they have to think back to Marco again.

'Wow, what a mood killer.' Leo instantly regrets that thought and he is really glad that he didn't say it out loud.

"Alright, rookies! Form up!" Ness yells. "Your uniforms are here!" Ness smiles and the rookies receive their Survey Corps coats and cloaks. "Ditch those ugly cadet clothes. These ones are way better."

Leo takes a look at the cloak held by a scout before he sighs and takes it. He gets the coat, too and takes off the cadet coat. He puts on the scout uniform and he feels rather differently than when he was in a cadet uniform.

"This is..." He checks himself with the cloak on. "Pretty cool." He throws it around on him to check how it feels when it moves around. "You know, this has a different feel to it than the ones we had in the academy."

He is just mumbling mostly to himself because no one is paying attention to him. He notices it but decides not to mention it. It doesn't bother him that much. They just stand around with their capes on. They are scouts, wearing the Wings of Freedom, the famous insignia of the Survey Corps for the first time. Then, they walk into a building quietly to discuss what comes next. Leo lies up on a box, facing upwards, having his cape over his face and decides to just listen in silence.

"So then... you guys are really..." Eren still finds it difficult to believe that his friends are joining him in the Survey Corps.

"Yes." Mikasa says. "We will be in the upcoming expedition as well."

"Hey, Eren." Jean turns to the trio of Eren, Mikasa and Armin. "I heard that while you were in your titan form, you intentionally tried to crush Mikasa. Mind telling us what that was all about?"

"You're wrong. He thought he was just swatting a fly, nothing mo--"

"I wasn't asking you." Jean cuts off Mikasa's attempt at defending Eren and takes a look at her wound. "Oh, by the way. That cut on your cheek looks pretty deep." He taps his cheek with his fingers. "Just how did you get that again?"

Mikasa hides her wound behind her hair while Eren looks down at the ground.

"Apparently, it's all true." He says. "When I was a titan I... I tried to kill Mikasa."

"Apparently? As in you don't remember whether you did or not?" Jean gets a little frustrated at Eren. "So basically, you can transform into a fifteen meter tall monster at will, but when you do, you don't actually have full control over it?"

"Not yet, but that's right." Eren says and that doesn't suit well with Jean.

'Now I wonder why that doesn't surprise me...' Leo quietly chuckles under his cloak. Jean stares at Eren before he sighs and turns to the others behind him.

"Do you hear that everyone? What a fine situation this is. Our lives and the faith of all mankind rest on his shoulders. I'm guessing we will probably all end up like Marco. Dead way before Eren even knows it."

"Stop it. What's the point in chastising Eren now? Just give it a rest." Mikasa gets defensive but Jean is having none of it.

"Listen, Mikasa. Unlike you, most or the rest of us, aren't willing to just throw our lives away for him on a whim." Mikasa didn't expect that response from Jean. "We need a reason. The truth. We want to know what we're laying our lives down for. Otherwise, we might hesitate in the times at hand. What we want... is a guarantee from Eren. Show us what you're worth. Prove it to us. We're asking you to make us believe that you're worth dying for." Jean turns fully to Eren and starts walking towards him. Eren takes one step back but then is grabbed by Jean. "You think you can do that? If you can, we're with you. All the way."

"Right..." Eren says as he is staring into the eyes of his academy rival. Everyone is looking at them, except Ymir and Leo. They are busy with something else. But Leo does think that it's time for him to speak.

"Um, you're missing something out." He says and everyone looks back at him as he slowly removes the cloak off his face. "I'm not saying, Jean, that I disagree with you, 'casue I don't." He sits up on the box he was lying on. "But, I do think that this is the... right time to..." He stretches his arms. "Get a few things off my chest." He jumps down from the box and walks towards Eren while not taking his eyes off him. Leo taps Jean on the shoulders. "That was a fine speech. Nice one."

Jean doesn't have the time to thank the compliment, as Leo's fist clenches and he delivers a massive punch to Eren's face.

"What the hell?!" Mikasa yells as everyone grasps around them and Eren falls on the ground. She gets into Leo's face. "What the hell was that?!"

"Calm down. He deserved it." Leo shoves Mikasa away and Armin grabs her arm to prevent her from punching Leo. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah." He looks at Eren, who is bleeding from his nose. "Now, you must be wondering why I did that. You see, it's simple. I don't how your transformation works, but I have a pretty good idea about when you transformed in Trost for the first time." Leo kneels down to look into Eren's eyes. They are filled with anger. "You were swallowed by a titan, right? Not only I know that because Armin informed us, but when I tried to kill said titan, a giant fucking arm came out of its mouth and PUNCHED ME! And it hurt, you know!"

"Well..." Eren wipes the blood coming out of his nose. "I'd do it again."

"Of course you would." Leo says and stands up with a sigh. "Now that that's done, I do have something to say, and I don't want you to forget this, so pay attention." Leo looks at the others, even though he's speaking directly to Eren. "I have a question for you, first. For all of you. What was the main reason for our victory in Trost?"

Everyone starts thinking while Mikasa kneels down next to Eren and helps him clean off the blood, and this time Eren does appreciate the help a little. 

"Um... Eren carrying the boulder and plugging the wall." Connie says after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah. Eren was the reason for our victory." Reiner adds his opinion and the others don't have anything to say. Leo looks back and forth between Connie and Reiner.

"Well, I didn't expect you to give a correct answer anyway, but nice try." Leo sighs before continuing. "Like I said. What I'm about to say is for all of you." Leo turns back to Eren. "What do you consider yourself to be, Eren?" Eren is caught off guard by that question and doesn't know what to say in response. "Some kind of savior? A hero? Hope, as Commander Erwin put it? No, no, you are neither." Leo starts to get a little angry. "I'm kinda... frustrated with the fact that people are overlooking one small little detail about the battle in Trost, but... allow me, to explain." Leo takes a deep breath. "Who were the ones, who lured you to HQ?" Everyone doesn't really get where Leo's going with this question, and he is staring straight into Eren's eyes, barely even blinking. "Let me remind you. It was Armin, Mikasa and Connie. Who were the ones, who were protecting you against the Garrison? These two." Leo points at Armin and Mikasa. "Who were the ones to lure the titans away, so then you can be escorted by the elite squad to that boulder? Us. Who was the one, who ran to you, on his own, to see what's wrong? Him." Leo points at Armin again, and Armin has an idea about where Leo is heading with this. "Who was the one, who ran after  _him,_ and was fighting for his  _life,_ to protect  _you?_ Me. Who were the ones, who were defending you? Us! Who were the ones, who were dying for you?! Your comrades! Your friends!" Leo stops for a moment to take a breath. "I hope you get where I'm going with this. You, are in fact,  _not,_ a savior. You, Eren, are simply a missing link, who took his sweet ass fucking time showing up! Without us, you would be dead! You need us just as much as we need you, so don't you even fucking dare think that you are such a messiah, or something. Because you're not! Without you, we can't win, that is... that is correct! But without  _us..._ you. Are. Nothing." 

Leo stops and everyone is staring at him in silence. Armin knew that this is what Leo was going to say, deep down he knew this. He walks up to Leo and slowly puts his hand on his shoulder while gulping a little. 

"I... I think he got tha--"

"I'm not finished." Leo cuts Armin off and he gasps as Leo grabs Eren and shoves him onto a wall.

"Leo!" Mikasa shouts and runs at Leo who manages to push him away.

"Back off!" Leo yells as he pins Eren to the wall and Armin grabs Mikasa. Eren is trying to get out of Leo's grasp as Leo slowly looks at him and leans closer to him. "I... hate you. I hate you, so... much. What you said to me a while ago... hit me deep. It still... hurts my heart. And then I said something that hit you deep, too and... this relationship between us will never be fixed." Leo slightly looks to the side. "Maybe that's for the better." He then looks back at Eren. "But... since we are in the Survey Corps, we are in the same boat, which means..." Leo quickly lets go of Eren who falls on his knees. "Which means... that I will have your fucking back!" This creates a deep silence in the room. "But I want to be clear. You are not the reason I'm here. I'm keeping that reason to myself. And I'm not saying that I will die for you, because that will never,  _ever,_ happen. I'm not like her." Leo looks at Mikasa. "She definitely would. And goddamnit, he would do it, too." Leo points at Armin, who's eyes widen, and just looks down at the ground. It breaks Leo's heart to say this. "I'm not like them. I won't lay down my life for you. But I will protect you, because we cannot afford to lose you. But..." Leo's eyes fill with rage as he picks Eren up and pulls him close to his face. "If you have to transform out there, and I bet you will, and the  _second,_ you dare start swinging towards one of my friends, I will personally cut you up and kill you on the spot! And I will do it! I won't hesitate! Not even for a second!"

Leo finally finishes his rant and lets go of Eren. He adjusts Eren's coat to annoy him a little and Eren shoves his arm away while staring daggers at him. Leo snorts and walks back to his box and grabs his cloak.

"So uh... what, now?" Sasha asks, not really knowing what to say after a heated confrontation like that.

"Well, we probably have only a month to live, so..." Leo says as he puts on his cloak. "I know I said that we have a higher chance at survival, but that doesn't mean that we can't die. We are still human, after all." He then stares at Eren for a few seconds before continuing. "So I guess we just have to enjoy it, as much as we can. Get to know the Survey Corps a little, the veterans, the fellow rookies, anyone."

"So that's it? That's the plan for this month?" Reiner asks as he crosses his arms.

"If you have a better one, I'm all ears." Leo says as he turns around and starts walking away because he knows that Reiner doesn't have anything to say. Reiner proves that by just chuckling without saying anything. They walk to the barracks, and they look a lot similar to the ones they slept in while they were cadets. Leo walks into the room he was put into and there's Connie and Jean with him, along with a couple other recruits. Reiner, Bertholdt and Armin are right next to them. Leo steps to one of the bunk beds and puts his hand under the top one and touches it to feel that it is very dirty.

"This place is a dump." Jean says as he puts his cloak down on the bed.

"Yeah." Leo says as he is looking at his dirty hands. He sighs before shaking the dirt off. "Tell me about it."

"In which case, you have a problem, don't you?" Suddenly a calm, gentle voice is heard from the doorway and the recruits are surprised to see Captain Levi himself standing there. Much to the amazment of the recruits, but much to the disgust of Leo. 

"C-Captain Levi?!" One of the recruits is very happy to see Levi.

"Don't get too excited." Levi says.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the man himself." Leo crosses his arms and the tension is already rising up. "I see already how it is. Given that the other parts of the castle look  _juuust_ fine, you didn't bother to clean the barracks, because the  _useless_ new recruits will do it, without a problem, right?"

"Hm. Cunning. That's nice." It takes Levi a few seconds to remember that he met Leo before. "I know you. You're that big mouthed jerk from Trost, right?"

"And you're that overrated, overhyped asshole of the Survey Corps, right?" The other recruits stare with wide eyes at Leo as they are expecting a throwdown here, but Levi can not be bothered with it.

"Tch. Another brat who's too into himself." Levi says as he walks away, angering Leo.

"What?! What did you say?!" Leo tries to run after him but he gets stopped by Connie and Jean.

"Whoah. Hold on, Leo!" Connie says as Leo's pushing him away. "That is the captain you're messing with."

"Yeah?! So what?!" Leo eventually gives up and the two shove him back. He calms down a bit as he stares at his mates. "Oh, what? Don't tell me that you're buying this humanity's strongest crap! I believe it when I see it, but until then, the captain can go to hell."

"What did I hear you say?" Suddenly, Oluo appears and leans on the door. "You better watch your ton--"

And in true Oluo Bozado fashion he bites his tongue. Blood drips on his chin as he groans in pain. The recruits just stare at him without a clue to what is going on. He walks away while holding his mouth.

"That was weird." Leo says as everyone looks back and forth between each other in total confusion.

A few days have passed. Leo and company are filling in well, no big problems thus far. Leo's sitting on a bench all by himself before he hears some sniffing noises close to his ears. He gets startled and gasps a little as he jumps up from the bench.

"What the--" He looks at the culprit and it's none other than Mike Zacharius, veteran of the Survey Corps, humanity's second strongest soldier. Him and Leo stare at each other in silence while the latter is totally confused. Mike smiles and Leo is now feeling very uncomfortable.

"Mike!" Hanji walks up to them. "Stop scaring the cade-- Oh, hey, Leo!"

"O-oh, hey... um... H-Hanji, right?" Leo is still feeling the effects of the previous awkward moment.

"That's correct! That's good. Means you have a good memory. That is useful for a soldier." Hanji rambles on and Leo raises his eyebrows. He tries to say something but he gets cut off. "I'm sorry, Leo but we are kinda  in a hurry. We don't have a lot of time, so let's not waste it! Come on, Mike!"

Mike snorts and nods while Hanji smiles at Leo and they walk away. Leo stares after them with a confused look on his face. He exhales and rubs the back of his head. He realizes that the guy who sniffed him has the same name his dog had.

"The same name, and he sniffs too." Leo sits down back on the bench. "Maybe reincarnation isn't really a joke."

"What the hell is reincarnation?" Ymir's voice is heard from next to him and Leo looks to the right to see his fellow scout. 

"You seriously don't know?" Leo asks and Ymir laughs.

"Do you expect me to know anything?" She sits down next to him and waits for an answer. "I take that as a compliment."

"Well, If you want to know..." Leo sighs and cracks his neck. "Reincarnation is when a living being dies and starts a new life as a different life form. Or as the opposite sex, I think." Ymir doesn't say anything but she is a little impressed by that little fact. "Do you feel smarter now?" Ymir still doesn't say anything and Leo starts to get slightly annoyed. "Ymir?" He looks at her but sees nothing but a fist coming towards him at high speed and it crashes into his nose. "Ow! What the-- What the fuck?!"

"That's for calling me a lesbo." Ymir shakes her hand. That punch hurt for her, too. Leo's nose is bleeding like crazy and it might be even broken. That punch landed good.

"Why?! I thought you don't care about... what people think of you!" Leo mutters as he puts his hand over his nose and starts wiping the blood away. "Shit... that was nasty..."

"You're right, I don't care. But I still don't appreciate being called that. It's rude." Ymir states and Leo senses bullshit.

"Ha! Yeah, right! You are Ymir, for crying out loud! You don't get your feelings hu-- Ow!" Leo accidentally presses too hard on his nose. "Fuck. You have definitely broken it."

"Oh, God. Stop being such a pussy!" Ymir has enough of Leo's whining and grabs his nose and pops it back into place. Leo thanks that noble deed by screaming out in pain. "And for the record, it wasn't me who got their feelings hurt, it was Krista."

Leo doesn't say anything as he is too busy with his bleeding nose. Ymir stares at him and gets tired of seeing him messing around so she gives him a napkin. Leo's surprised by this as he hesitates to take it from her but Ymir is serious about this. 

"Thanks." Leo says and he starts wiping the blood away but he realizes that the napkin won't do much in the long run. "So... I guess... I have to apologize on a bigger scale because it was Krista who felt bad, right?"

"Yes." Ymir says and puts her hands on her head. "So let's hear it."

Leo lets out an annoyed groan as he is not in the mood or state to apologize to Ymir, but he realizes that it's not worth having something else be broken.

"Alright, okay." He sighs. "Tell Krista, that I'm sorry."

"Right away." Ymir says and immediately stands and starts walking away. She doesn't bother to ask how Leo knows about her relationship with Krista as she figures that he might have seen them once.

"Hey!" Leo stands up. "Just so you know, I  _will_ pay this back!"

"I would expect nothing less from you." Ymir shoots back and Leo just smiles and lets her walk away. He decides that it should be better if he washes the blood off with water. He starts making his way to the bathroom and while on the way, Armin, who's sitting outside with Bertholdt and Reiner, who are playing chess. He seems curious and a little concerned about why Leo is walking in a fast pace with a bloody nose.

"Excuse me, guys." Armin says. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Bertholdt asks.

"I saw Leo walking with a bloody nose." Armin answers while walking away. "I want to see what's wrong with him."

"Must be that time of the month for him." Reiner cracks a joke which he is the only one that finds funny. Armin doesn't quite catch what Reiner said, but Bertholdt does and he just sighs as he moves his pawn forward. They watch Armin walk into the castle after Leo and then they turn back to the board.

"Reiner. Can I ask you a question?" Bertholdt asks as Reiner is thinking about his next move.

"Yeah, go ahead." Reiner says while still thinking.

"Do you think... that Leo's messing with us?" Bertholdt's question freezes Reiner. He stares at the board, holding a piece.

"Who knows, Bertl?" Reiner moves the piece with a sigh. "It's a possibility. We can't know for sure. Judging by the Syxton family, by how much I know about them at least, he is someone you can't trust with ease."

"I see." Bertholdt looks down at his shaking legs. "But... how can we tell if he does?" There's silence between them as Reiner is deep in his thoughts. "I mean, if we know, outside in the expedition, he could easily cut our heads off, with us not even being able to react fast enough."

"You're right." Reiner sighs. He leans back in his chair and he comes up with a solution. "I know what we're gonna do." He leans forward and whispers to Bertholdt. "We are going to confront him tonight."

"T-tonight?!" Bertholdt doesn't really like the idea. "How?!"

Reiner shushes him to keep his voice down.

"Easily." He says. "We wake up in the middle of the night, pick him up and sneak to a place we can't be disturbed. Then, we will force him to join us."

"O-okay... but how?" Bertholdt is not sure about this.

"I think Armin was right. Leo does care about his friends. We are going to use that against him." Reiner explains the plan to Bertholdt, who's a bit hesitant, but he trusts Reiner with this. Meanwhile, Leo gets to the bathroom and starts cleaning his nose when Armin walks in.

"Leo? What's wrong?" He asks and Leo is very surprised to see Armin.

"Armin? What a coincidence." He says and he starts to feel a little anxious.

"I saw you walking and your bloody nose." Armin explains. "What happened?"

"Ymir... punched me." Leo is careful not to touch his nose a bit too hard.

"For what? What did you... do, or say?" Armin instantly assumes that it was Leo who was in the wrong and Leo finds that a little funny as he chuckles.

"I uh..." Leo almost says it but he then realizes that it's not his business to tell anyone. After all, he only knows about it by accident. "Never mind. It's... nothing you should be worried about."

"But--"

"I deserved it, Armin." Leo cuts him off. "That's all you need to know. Don't worry. I... can manage. It will heal up in a short time."  Armin stares at Leo trying to wash the blood off. He feels a little sorry for him. He hesitantly steps forward and takes out a towel he had tucked in his pants.

"Let me." He says as he puts the towel to Leo's nose.

"Oh, no, you shoul--" Leo tries to object, but he gives in as soon as Armin touches his face. His heart suddenly starts beating faster and faster and he has no choice but to keep staring at Armin.

"She got you good." Armin says and that makes Leo laugh.

"That's, oh please, tell me something I don't know." Armin smiles as he slowly wipes the blood away. Leo's smile fades away slowly as he stares into Armin's ocean blue eyes.

'Holy... shit...' He gets lost in them. Like he was thrown into a deep lake and he can't swim. He's desperately trying to look away, but he can't. And Armin even moves his hand slowly, so that doesn't help Leo to not feel weird. After Armin is done, they just stare at each other awkwardly.

"W-what?" Armin is confused and Leo swears to God he saw him blush a little.

"Oh um... not-nothing, really. Just..." Leo tries to save the situation but he feels there's barely any way out of this that would seem natural. He honestly just wants Armin to never remove his hand from his face, which, unfortunately for him, happens.

"Um... Y-you sh-should be uh, careful with it. Okay?" Armin is a little uncomfortable too and Leo doesn't know if it should make him happy or even more nervous.

"Yeah. Right." Leo says and he starts to calm down a bit. Armin puts the towel down on the counter and walks out of the bathroom.

"Take care." He says with a small smile on his face. That was not what Leo needed right now.

"U-uh... um... yeah, right. Of... course. You... too..." Leo can barely get the words out and Armin responds with a laughter. The cutest laughter Leo has ever heard. Armin closes the door and leaves Leo alone. Leo takes a deep breath and leans on the counter, staring at his own reflection in the mirror. His nose is full purple and it looks ugly. The bleeding stopped, magically, and he gently pins his head to the mirror. "What... the fuck am I doing? I'm... pathetic..."

Leo looks at himself again and he sees a giant waste of space in front of him. Someone who doesn't belong in the military. Someone, who doesn't belong in this world. He is crazier about Armin the more days go by. Every time he sees him, he feels his heart skip a beat. He gets butterflies in his stomach, and the only things he wants in there are the things that can keep him alive.

"Don't worry, Eren. I'll keep you safe." Mikasa says with a smooth voice, echoing through the air. Eren doesn't say anything, just smiles at Mikasa, then steps closer to her. She tenses up, not knowing what Eren will do. He gently puts his hands on her cheek and her heartbeat speeds up. She feels happy, and complete. Eren smiles at him but just when everything is at peace, a thunderbolt strikes at a distance and the Colossal Titan appears. Eren angrily frowns immediately and pushes Mikasa down.

"You bastard! I'll kill you! I'll kill every last one of you!" He shouts as he transforms into his titan. He rushes towards the Colossal Titan while Mikasa is trying to stand up.

"Eren!" She yells after him but when she is about to stand up, a titan grabs her from beneath the ground. She wants to draw her swords, but she doesn't have her ODM-Gear on. She hears Eren roaring and sees him getting grabbed by the Colossal Titan. She becomes terrified, not even realizing that  _she_ is about to get eaten as well. "Eren! EREN!"

She shouts again, but it's pointless. The Colossal Titan moves Eren to his mouth. Mikasa then wakes up in a pile of sweat, in the middle of the night. She sits up, wiping away the sweat on her forehead.

'Eren...' It felt so real to her. Just like any dream. But this was the first time she dreamed something like this. Meanwhile, Reiner wakes up too and is ready to take action. He climbs up the bunk bed to wake Bertholdt up.

"Hey, Bertl. Wake up." He whispers quietly and shakes his friend, who responds with a sleepy groan. "Hey! Bertl!"

"I'm... I'm awake, Reiner." Bertholdt yawns. "Are you serious about this? Shouldn't we just lay low?"

"No, it's better this way. Come on." Reiner climbs down and has to literally drag Bertholdt carefully down with him. They slowly maneuver to the next room where Leo is sleeping, or at least should, because when Reiner and Bertholdt get to Leo's bed, they find it empty. "What the...?"

"He's not here." They become clueless and Reiner curses under his breath.

"Just our luck." He almost raises his voice but luckily he doesn't wake anyone up.

"What now?" Bertholdt asks, who was feeling more comfortable a minute ago. In his bed.

"We find him." Reiner says and Bertholdt rolls his eyes as he gets more panicked by the second, but he is afraid to stop Reiner. He is barely able to keep up even. "Damnit! Where could he be?!"

Leo's sitting in the mess hall with candlelight keeping him from darkness. He's leaning on the table, not being able to sleep. For more reasons than he could handle. Especially the thing he has for Armin, which he's getting worse at controlling. He sighs as he stares at the bottle of wine in front of him. It was there way before he even got here. He grabs it and takes a sip. It tastes pretty good. Leo never cared about drinking while being underage, as he's days are probably numbered. He did it in the academy when he had the chance, too, but kept it a secret. And as far as he remembers, he only got drunk once. He takes another sip when suddenly, he hears the door open. He quickly swallows the wine, puts the cap back and puts the bottle back where it was. The person opening the door peeks in and Leo is very surprised to see Mikasa stepping in.

"Mikasa?" He asks, finding hard to believe his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same." Mikasa says as she steps in, leaving the door open slightly while Leo chuckles.

"I couldn't sleep. My nose hurts so much, I can't stay asleep." Mikasa raises her eyebrows in surprise as she sits down opposite to Leo.

"How did that happen?" She asks and Leo sighs before rushing out the answer.

"Confrontation with Ymir earlier this week, she punched me for it today, I deserved it, no problem." He says that so fast, Mikasa can't help but to feel a little curious about it.

"That sounds like a great friendship." She says with a little sarcasm, which Leo finds odd coming from Mikasa.

"Wow. Spending too much with us finally taught you how to use sarcasm properly, huh?" He laughs while Mikasa just shrugs with her arms crossed. "And I wouldn't say Ymir and I are friends. Let's just say we are uh... not very far away. Is... is that right?" Leo stares at Mikasa but he doesn't get an answer. "I think it is."

He grabs the bottle and drinks from it again before offering Mikasa some.

"Isn't that against the rules?" She says, making Leo a little disappointed. "And aren't you underage for that?"

"Bite me." He drinks from the wine again. "Since when do  _you_ care about the rules?" Leo holds the bottle towards Mikasa in a teasing way. She rolls her eyes and sighs before eventually leaning over for the bottle and taking it to drink. "Atta girl. That's the spirit." Mikasa downs the entire bottle, much to Leo's surprise, and gives it back to him. "What the..." Leo turns the bottle upside down to see if something is still in there, but aside from a couple of drops, it's been emptied. "I was offering it for a sip, not the whole thing!"

"You didn't say anything, just shoved it in my face." Mikasa leans forward and Leo cracks a smile at her. "Oh, and by the way, never punch Eren ever again. Got it?"

Leo's smile fades away slowly as he senses the intimidation and seriousness in Mikasa's voice.

"Okay, since you asked, nicely." He puts the bottle down to the side. "Right, got it. I won't punch Eren ever again. Cross my heart, and hope to die." Leo puts his hand on his chest and holds the other one up. Mikasa doesn't say anything as he just gently lowers his hands and leans on the table. They sit in silence for a few moments before Leo realizes something. "Oh, now that I remember, you still didn't give me an answer."

"Hm?" Mikasa gets knocked out of her train of thoughts. 

"Why are you here?" Leo asks, again.

"I... couldn't sleep. Bad dream." Mikasa tilts her head down slightly and stares at the table in silence. Leo stares at her as he is trying to read her like a book, but people were always claiming that reading Mikasa is like reading Leo's handwriting: Really difficult. But thankfully, Leo can read his own handwriting.

"Oh, come on. Who are you kidding?" He asks and Mikasa slowly looks up at him with a questioning look. "It's so obvious something's bothering you." Mikasa doesn't say anything but that doesn't stop Leo. "I think I know what." He pauses again to give Mikasa a chance to say what her problem is, but she doesn't play by his rules, and Leo doesn't even hesitate to probe her deeper. "It's Eren, right?" Mikasa's eyes quickly widen and Leo can see her blush. "I knew it." Mikasa doesn't know what to say. For the first time in a very long time, she is lost for words. "Go on, tell me I'm wrong. Go on." Leo insists, but Mikasa stays quiet. He finds it strange, seeing how Mikasa always reacted when someone accused her of being in love with Eren. She always brushed it off, saying that Eren was family to her. But this time silence is all Leo gets. "Okay. If you don't want to talk about it, that is fine. Goodnight."

Leo is about to stand up and leave, but Mikasa finally decides to speak up.

"Wait." She asks, and Leo notices the strange tone in her voice. "Can I ask you a question?"

Leo gapes at Mikasa, and he is getting a little concerned now. Even though Mikasa always hangs around Eren, Leo never hated her. As a matter of fact, he always looked at her as someone he can have interesting small talks with. And she did save him once, so that helps, too.

"Okay. Sure. Fire away." Leo sits back down and Mikasa has to think for a second on how to go about this, but she decides to not beat around the bush too much.

"Do you think... love is possible in this world?" That is a question Leo did not expect, especially from Mikasa, therefore he doesn't even know how to react. "I mean real love. Is it possible?"

"Well uh... I..." Leo is totally lost and confused. He doesn't know if Mikasa is joking with him or not. But Mikasa does seem serious, so he decides to take this topic seriously, too. "I think it's a matter of perspective. I mean, two common civilians can have a relationship for as long as they like. They don't have anything to worry about. Those who want to fight are already fighting, so they don't have to worry about it." Mikasa slowly looks at Leo as that is clearly not the answer she was looking for. As a matter of fact, Leo didn't give her a real answer. "But I bet you mean love between two soldiers, right?" Mikasa doesn't have to answer, Leo understands. And he is frustrated, as this is definitely not the topic he wants to talk about. He sighs as he leans onto the table, and Armin comes into his mind. He quickly gets him out of there though. "Well, I don't know. I mean, there are so much dangerous obstacles they have to conquer. But hey. Let's take Hannah and Franz for example. They were in love. They were protecting each other to the bitter end. So to answer your question. My answer is yes. It is possible. It just... might not last that... long."

Mikasa's heart shrinkes a little after she hears that. The two stare at each other as they both think about they respected 'loved ones'. Leo feels even shittier than he did a few minutes ago, and Mikasa wishes she was still dreaming.

"Is that your answer?" Mikasa asks.

"Yes." Leo nods, then looks at the wine bottle. "But in love, there's always a sense of fear, right?" He doesn't think much when he says that, it just comes out without him even realizing it. "I mean think about. For years, you are living with someone. Training with them, helping them, fighting alongside them. You develop... feelings for them. But when you realize your feelings, what if that person rejects you? Or what if they love someone else? Or..." Leo notices what he is doing and stops himself immediately. His jaw drops and looks at Mikasa, who is looking at him weirdly. "I-I said too much."

Leo realizes that he needs to get out of here, but he is grabbed by Mikasa. He is both embarrassed and terrified.

"Leo?" Mikasa is holding Leo's hand tightly, which Leo lets her know with shaking his hand, not being able to yank it out of her grip. "You were in the middle of something. At least finish your thought."

"Shit..." Leo whispers to himself as he stares forward at the door. He knows there's no turning back. He has to go through this. He takes a deep breath and steps back far enough so Mikasa can easily let him go. "You  _really_ want me to say it?" He wants confirmation, which Mikasa gives him with a nod. He rolls his eyes as he tries to collect himself and his thoughts.

'Fuck it.' He takes a deep breath before starting.

"Alright. I'll be short, since I want to go to bed." He gulps before continuing. "You see, this whole love thing... It doesn't stand that far away from me, you know?"

"I figured that much." Mikasa says with her arms crossed. Leo is a little annoyed by that answer, but he lets it slide without a problem. 

"Okay. So..." He has no idea what Mikasa is going to say. After all, Mikasa considers Armin part of her family too. Not as much as Eren, but still. There's not that big if a difference. "There's someone... from the 104th who... I just can't get out of my head. I'm crazy about them." Mikasa eyes widen slightly as she thought that Leo wasn't interested in love, or in any relationship. "So... there's that."

"And who is this girl you're talking about? If you don't mind me asking." Leo feels like both laughing and crying.

"That's the thing. It's..." He stops himself before revealing it to Mikasa. He doesn't want to do this but the more he struggles, the harder it becomes to resist. "It's not a girl..."

Mikasa's eyes widen entirely. She did  _not_ expect that. She takes one step back as she stares at Leo, who is feeling so embarrassed.

"I... I never thought of you of being  _that_ type of guy." That makes Leo chuckle.

"I think I'm in the middle. And I don't even know what to think of what you just said." He buries his face in his hands with a sigh. This is just getting harder and harder.

"Tell me. Who is it?" Mikasa is now very curious to hear who it is. If Leo thought there was a way out of this it just got destroyed. He can't crawl out of this now. He looks up from his hands.

"I'll tell you. But promise that you won't rip my head off." Leo holds up his finger and Mikasa doesn't get why she would want to do that, but suddenly she gets a shocking idea.

"Is it Eren?" She asks and she is waaay far off.

"What?! N-no! God, fuck no!" Leo freaks out immediately, but he can't really blame Mikasa. He is pretty vague about this. "But... you're not that far off."

Mikasa frowns at him and she might have this figured out.

"Is it--"

"It's Armin." Leo says it. He says it. It's out now, for Mikasa at least. The first person Leo confesses to is her, the last person he thought he would reveal this to. He strangely though feels relieved that he finally got to say it out loud to someone. "It's Armin. It's been a struggle for years but... the moment I realized what I felt was... the moment he delivered that heartfelt speech to the Garrison to protect you. That was the moment that broke me. So go ahead. Punch me. Tell me that I'm not the right guy for him. Tell me that I should stay away from him as much as possible. Tell me that I--"

"Why would I do that?" Mikasa cuts him off, much to his surprise.

"What?" Leo expected something much hostile.

"As much as I hate the fact that you and Eren hate each other's guts, you were always nice to Armin." That makes Leo think back to something that can be used as a counter argument.

"That is not true." He says while leaning on the table. "I yelled at him for trying to join the Survey Corps."

"You yelled at everyone who was trying to do that." Leo realizes that Mikasa does have a point. "You were running through emotions. It's not your fault. I think you should try it."

"Wait. Is Armin--"

"I don't know if he's into guys. Surprisingly, we never thought about talking about this sort of stuff. But go for it. It's worth a shot, right?" She pats him on the shoulders and starts walking away while Leo is staring forward. She almost goes out the door when Leo has something to say.

"Mikasa?" He says and she turns around in the doorway. "Thanks."

Mikasa stares at Leo, giving him a nice nod and a half smile. 

"Goodnight, Leo." She says and walks away.

"Goodnight." Leo whispers as he turns back to the table, feeling a ray of hope in him. He never thought that it would be Mikasa who came to him with aid about his Armin situation. It is a crazy world after all. But things are about to get messy as the door opens again. Leo's eyes widen and looks at those who walked in.

"Reiner? Bertholdt?" He is worrying crazily right now. "How much did you hear?"

"Heard enough." Reiner says as he stands next to Bertholdt with his arms crossed. "I though Ymir was only joking, but as it turns out, she is quite the honest person."

Leo is feeling angry towards Ymir, but since it's Reiner and Bertholdt, he can easily calm down. If Mikasa was okay with it, why should he worry about these two?

"Alright, then. So you know." He puts his hands on his hip. "But promise that you don't tell anyone?"

"Only if you stop bullshitting us." Reiner says and Leo is confused by that, and Bertholdt is still not okay with this.

"What are you talking about?" Leo asks and Bertholdt is concerned too, as he has no idea what Reiner has in mind. Reiner shows his disappointment with a sigh.

"Okay. Since you told Mikasa, and us a secret it's time for us to share a secret with you." Reiner says and Leo frowns at him in confusion as Bertholdt is a nervous wreck. "Five years ago, we launched an attack on humanity, destroying the gates in Wall Maria."

Leo doesn't get what Reiner is saying. It's all so sudden to him he can't even process this information, while Bertholdt is not happy with Reiner.

"Reiner! What are you doing?! Why are you telling him?!" He freaks out but Reiner is unfazed.

"I'm the Armored Titan and he is the Colossal Titan." Reiner points at Bertholdt and Leo is in shock. His eyes are twitching and he can't believe what he's hearing.

"Wh-wha... wha..." He can't even get a sentence out. He almost passes out but then his shock slowly turns into anger as he understands what that means. "Wait. So then..." He remembers back to Shiganshina. Back to the way his dad died. His head starts shaking in anger as he looks at Bertholdt, who gets scared by Leo's intimidating look. "You bastard!" He rushes towards him but Reiner quickly pins him down. "You motherfucker! I'll kill yo--"

"Shut it!" Reiner puts his hands on Leo's mouth. "You will wake someone up." Leo struggles to get out but Reiner is much stronger than him, and then Bertholdt helps him too. "Alright. Here's the deal. I don't know what's wrong with you, so I'll go with what I know. First off, there's one more from us. We are a group of three." After hearing that, Leo is even more angry and desperate to get out but the two is too much for him. "In the next expedition, that person will attack. They won't kill you, so you won't have to worry. Probably." 

Reiner laughs but then is shut up by Leo biting his finger.

"And why should I help you?! You are murderers!" Leo is not ready to give in but Reiner has a trump card.

"Because if you don't..." He leans close to Leo's ears. "We'll kill Armin." That is instantly enough to calm Leo down. "And everyone else close to you. You have no choice. Oh, and if you think about reporting to the Commander, don't. Because if you do, we will transform here, and destroy everything and everyone. Got it?" Leo is too much in a shock to answer immediately, so Reiner shakes him. "Got it?!"

"Yes! Yes." Leo has no choice but to give in.

"Good." They let him go. Leo lies on the ground, angrily clenching his fists and not letting his eyes off of Bertholdt. "Now we walk back to our rooms like civilized people. From now on, you are one of us, Leo."

"Go fuck yourselves." Leo stands up and that kinda scares Bertholdt, who grabs the candle to defend himself. They stand around in silence before Leo turns his back to Bertholdt. A big mistake, as Bertholdt uses the candle to knock Leo out.

"That sounded like it hurt." Reiner says after he catches the falling Leo.

"What the hell, Reiner? What is your plan?" Bertholdt asks.

"Trust me." That is all Reiner says before taking back Leo to his room slowly and carefully. They put him in the bed and walk back to their own beds. It's out now. Leo knows the identity of the two most feared titans in the world, and there are more of them. After three years of training together, after sacrificing it all and fighting together, Leo is betrayed by the one he thought was his best friend, and the one he had no bad words for. The world is getting crueler by the minute.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 20 preview: The waiting is over. The Survey Corps launches the 57th expedition beyond the walls. But danger doesn't lie only ahead, but within, too. Leo has to keep on eye out not just for the two traitors he once considered close friends, but for the third one as well, while he is trying keeping Armin safe, too.
> 
> Chapter 20: The 57th Expedition Part One: The Devils Within


	20. The 57th Expedition Part One: The Devils Within

It's time. This is the day of the 57th scouting expedition beyond the walls. No one knows what to expect, especially since they will take a whole new route. Except for one. Leo Syxton. He knows what's going to happen, but he doesn't know exactly when. The past few weeks have been difficult for him. The pure thought of him restraining himself while knowing that his father's murderer is withing arms reach is enough to turn him into the wildest madman alive. And the betrayal of one of his best friends doesn't help either. Reiner and Bertholdt filled him in on their plan and what to expect out there. They want Eren, and they are assuming that he's in the right wing. At least, that's the information they've been given. Leo had no choice but to go along, or he would have to see his friends get murdered, including the one he holds the dearest. He had to fight with his inner demons to come to terms with the fact that he's in a compromised position. He even has the chance to be responsible for the deaths of countless other scouts. He never wanted this but how could he possibly prepare for this? 

"Um... hey, guys. Total basic question." Connie says while he stands by his horse, holding the signal flares. "What is the purple flare for?"

"Are you seriously asking that?!" Jean freaks out. "In a few minutes we will be out there. How could you  _not_ know that?!"

"I knew you were an idiot but this is just pathetic." Ymir says from her horse.

"H-hey! I forgot, okay?!" Connie tries to justify himself but this excuse doesn't suit well with the others.

"You forgot?!" Jean gets angry. "What if one of us is in danger and shoots that flare? You won't come and help us?!"

"Sooo, this is for--"

"Emergency, yes! God!" Jean shakes his head and gets on his horse. Connie is feeling embarrassed and he puts his flares back into the box when Leo comes up to him with his horse and pats him on the head.

"It's okay, Connie." He says. It's better to ask now. I mean after all, you never know what to expect out there." Leo looks at Reiner while he says that. "You have to be sure about what you're doing."

"O-okay." Connie nods. "Thanks, Leo."

"You're welcome." Leo doesn't get his eyes off of Reiner and they are both staring at each other.

"See? He gets it." Connie turns around on his horse to look at Jean who just rolls his eyes.

It's been difficult but Leo has one trait that proved to be very effective: His acting skills. He is so good at pretending that nothing's wrong, Reiner and Bertholdt once even questioned if they did tell him who they are and they just simultaneously dreamed the whole thing. Leo still treats them like his comrades. He jokes around with them, talks about what would have happened if he went to the Military Police, stuff like that. He does drop a few hints though that he has his eyes on them, like he did a few seconds ago. Leo threatened them that he is more unpredictable than they could ever imagine. The expedition is going to be nerve wrecking for both sides.

"Are you ready, guys?" Ness asks when he rides in front of them. None of the rookies answer and Ness cracks a smile. "Very enthusiastic. Don't worry out there. We will have your backs. Alright. Let's go!"

They ride to Karanes where the expedition starts from. Their mission is to see if they can make it to Shiganshina with Eren. This is the mission for both sides, although the other ones don't intend on bringing Eren back to Karanes. It's a kidnapping mission, and Leo doesn't really know which part he plays in yet exactly. He doesn't even know who the third person is. Whenever he asked Reiner or Bertholdt, they either ignored him, or just said: You'll see. They didn't even played the pronoun game. They addressed that person as they, rather than he or she. They very well even be the commander, for all Leo knows. He suspects literally everyone.  _Everyone._ Even Armin. Altough he finds that hard to believe. Then again, he never expected Reiner or Bertholdt to be titans either.

"Hey. Leo." Jean rides up next to him just before they slow down to walk into Karanes. "You look like you have a lot on your mind." Leo looks at Jean with a blank stare and doesn't say anything. "It can't be all that bad." 

"Hmph. Yeah. Right." Leo looks slightly back and meets Reiner's gaze. "Do you agree with that? Reiner?" 

Reiner notices the intimidating look on Leo's face. He knows he won't mess around anymore.

"Well yeah. I mean... you said it. We know what to... expect." There's a little tease behind that as Leo just laughs it off, making Reiner a little confused.

"That's funny. You're a funny guy." Leo gives Reiner a thumbs up and a huge grin. Reiner doesn't know what the hell is going on with Leo. The column stops just before the outer gate as they are waiting for the titans in the vicinity to be lured away. And while they wait, they have time to talk around.

"Hey, Jean?" Connie talks to Jean who looks back at him. "I heard you named your horse." Connie holds back his laughter. "What..."  He tries so hard. "What was it again?"

Jean takes a deep breath and sighs while just ignoring the snickering Connie while everyone around them stares at Connie, not understanding what he's laughing at.

"What is so funny?" Ymir asks.

"Nothing." Jean quickly answers but Connie doesn't think he should stay quiet.

"What was it? Bushwald or something?" Connie laughs hysterically and Sasha joins in too.

"Shut up!" Jean turns back to them. "And it's Buchwald, you idiot! And at least I know what the flares are for!" 

Connie and Sasha don't stop laughing and Ymir just sighs while shaking her head. Krista stares at them then she remembers something and looks at the silently sitting Leo in front of her.

"Didn't you name your horse, too, Leo?" She asks and Leo is brought out from his thoughts.

"What? Say again?" He turns back to Krista who points at the horse.

"It's name. You gave it one. Right?" Connie and Sasha both are still laughing, although not as loud now. Leo stares at them then just smiles.

"Yeah, I did." He says as he turns back to look at his horse.

"And? What is it?" Krista asks again and Leo rubs the side of his ride's head.

"Star." He says while carefully and slowly moving his hand on Star's skin.

"Star? Why? Where did that come from?" Ymir chuckles as she finds that name silly but Leo is too distracted to care about it.

"You see the mark on his forehead?" He taps it with his finger and Star snorts. "It's shaped like a star. Hence... Star."

There's an awkward silence as everyone around Leo doesn't really know if the name is clever or corny. But one of them is on his side.

"I... think it's a nice name." Armin quietly says, but loudly enough for Leo to hear.

"Thank you, Armin." Leo smiles at him and Armin returns the gesture. Leo looks forward when the bell in Karanes starts ringing.

"Commander. The time approaches." A scout informs Erwin who nods his head. "Titans in the vicinity have been lured away! The gate opens in thirty seconds!"

It's close. The beginning of the inevitable catastrophe. Leo takes a deep breath and rolls his head around to crack his neck. Then another surprise gets to him.

"Well I'll be damned." Leo's jaw drops at the familiar voice. He looks to his right and he can't believe his eyes. It's his former next-door neighbor. "I knew you enlisted in the military, but never in my life would've guessed that you would end up as a scout."

"Oh, hey." Leo awkwardly greets him. "You're here? Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yes, I am." The man nods. "My wife's brother had a place for us to stay after the Trost attack. Those were some dark times, kid."

"I know, sir. I know." Leo looks slightly down. "I was there."

"Hey!" The man raises his voice a little and Leo looks back at him. "Give them hell for me, would you?"

This request surprises Leo as these two have never been that close in the past, but he manages to smile and nod.

"I will. Don't worry about me." The man nods, too and Leo looks at his friends who are staring at him. "Former neighbor."

"This is it!" A scout in the middle of the column starts yelling. "The day has come for humanity to take another step forward! Now let's show those titans exactly what we're made of!"

The scouts cheer as they raise their hands and swords. Leo smiles and he suddenly jumps up on his feet and slowly stands on his horse.

"Open the gate!" The scout orders and the gate slowly starts rising as Leo stares at the wall then looks behind him.

"Leo? What are you doing?" Jean asks, totally not getting what Leo is doing. Leo doesn't say anything as he sees Eren behind Captain Levi. Their gazes meet and Leo just casually nods at him, which Eren finds odd, but he smiles at him too, nonetheless.

"Friend of yours?" Levi asks Eren.

"Wouldn't say." Eren answers and the Captain is a little surprised by that.

"Then why is he smiling at you, and standing on his horse like an idiot?" Eren finds it hard not to chuckle a little at that but he decides to keep calm.

"No idea, sir." That is how Eren settles this as the gate opens completely.

"Forward!" Erwin shouts and he starts riding. "It has officially begun! The 57th Scouting Expedition! Scouts, move out!"

Leo smiles as he just gently spreads his legs and falls on Star, making him stand up, neigh and run. He chuckles and the Survey Corps leave Karanes. The houses outside the outer wall are either completely destroyed or are seriously damaged. Leo scoffs and shakes his head as he looks through the ones around him as he passes them by. A titan with a giant belly emerges from the left and the support squad are out to keep him away from the formation. It's a bit of a problem as the first cut on the nape is not deep enough and the titan destroys some houses as it tries to grab the scouts. Sasha gasps in fear as she watches it.

"Eyes front!" A scout riding next to her grabs her head and points it forward. "It's their job to handle this! Yours is to keep moving!"

'I could kill that in two seconds." Leo watches the action unfold and he gets a tap on his back. He looks behind and sees Jean pointing at his own eye and then forward, signaling Leo that he should look where he's going. Leo smiles and nods at him as he does just that. They leave the houses and Erwin extends his left arm.

"Long-Range Scouting Formation! Let's go!" He gives the order and the column executes it. 

"See you around. Good luck." Reiner says as he falls behind.

"Do us all a favor and don't piss yourself if you run into one of them." Jean says rather to Armin than to Leo.

"Yeah. Same goes for you." Armin says and Leo finds himself smiling at that a little. He looks back at Armin.

"Remember what I said last night." He says and Armin nods with determination in his eyes. Leo smiles again as he charges forward as he is the one leading the rookies on the right. A scout rolls up to him and gives him a spare horse.

"Here you go, Leo." Leo grabs the reins and attaches it to Star. But he wonders about the scout who gave it to him as he's never seen him before. "Good luck. And be careful."

The scout leaves him and Leo doesn't say a thing. He just shrugs and passes it as the creation of his imagination. He worries a bit too much. But why wouldn't he? Just a few places behind him, there's the Armored Titan and in a few minutes, the complete right wing is going to be wiped out.

'Something's off.' Leo looks around. 'I haven't seen Eren anywhere. I know he's in the right wing but... what if he isn't? I mean, come to think of it, why would Commander Erwin put the literal hope of humanity into the most dangerous position? It doesn't make any sense.'

Some flares are shot up which Leo passes down. More seconds pass and each are making Leo more nervous and impatient. He sighs and starts breathing slowly and counting to calm himself down. Inhale, count to four, exhale, count to four, repeat. Always works for him. He only closes his eyes for a second, but when he opens them, he sees a titan walking in front of him in a distance.

"How the? The son of a bitch broke through. Must be an abnormal." Leo grabs the black flare and puts it into the gun but before shooting it he takes one good look at the titan. It seems very familiar to him. His eyes then widen when he realizes which titan that is. "You..." He slowly lovers the gun. It's that titan from five years ago in Shiganshina that was trying to eat him. "Oh, try doing that now! I don't have to signal! I can take you out in a matter of seconds! Come on, you bastard!" Leo charges forward and gets close to a nearby house. He smiles as he gets next to it but then is shocked to see a titan lying next to it. "Shit!"

Leo gasps as he tries to pull back but the titan jumps forward and grabs the spare horse with its mouth. Star falls over, almost crushing Leo and the box containing flares fall down too. The titan then aggressively puts his hands down, crushing the box. Then moves his hands quickly so then the all kinds of different colored smoke covers a large area. Armin sees the smoke from a distance.

'What is happening over there?' He doesn't go to check it out because of the two titans. Leo sighs as he stands up and he finds himself surrounded by the smoke. He can't see a thing but he can hear the titan walking around.

"Now that's just great." Leo pulls out his swords. "I let my guard down. How can I be this stupid?" He can hear the titan growling. This is a very scary situation and it was completely preventable. Leo grunts as his grip around his swords strengthen. Leo can't make out where the titan is. "I'm pretty sure it knows I'm in here. But where is it? Ah... what the hell?"

He shoots his anchor out but it hits nothing. It's not there. He fires it again into another direction. Nothing. He tries it multiple times but he can't hit the titan.

'Damnit! Where is it?!' He's getting a little impatient but he knows that he absolutely must not lose his cool. That could mean the end for him. He takes a deep breath and fires the anchor again. This time it hits, but it was very quick. The titan is close. 'Okay... it will happen in a blink of an eye. If I screw this up... I'm dead.'

It feels like everything stopped for a moment. Like the whole world was trying to give Leo some time to think. But he was too focused on staying alive to think. He watches the spot where his wire disappears in the smoke. He feels it loosen and hears the titan moving towards him. He takes a deep breath. This is going to be close.

"One... two... three..." He sees a figure in the smoke and the wire is now very loose. "Now!" The titan jumps at him but he is quicker. He slingshots himself under the titan and launches himself upwards. He smiles as he gives it everything he's got. He screams as he cuts the nape of the titan and it collapses. Leo almost loses his balance but he manages to stay standing. He jumps off the titan and looks at its face. "Well, that was intense... but I got you." He starts laughing but that is quickly interrupted when he hears loud footsteps behind him. Then those stop and he is covered by a large shadow. He slowly turns his head and sees the first titan standing behind him. It reaches for him but Leo knocks it away with his sword with an angry grunt. He immediately goes for its legs. He gets them both and then he goes for the nape. "Now that I have a chance against you it's not that easy to kill me, is it, you bitch?!"

He kills the titan but he breaks his swords in the process. He lands on the ground and the titan falls over, knocking away all the smoke. Leo can now finally see the terrain clearly. He can't see anyone around him and he notices a crushed horse a few meters next to him. He walks to it and sees that it's the spare horse.

'Okay, good. Then Star is still alive. Somewhere.' He tries to whistle but he can't. 'Great. Now how am I going to get out of here?' He grabs his pistol that has a signal flare in it and takes a look at it. 'Black. Of course. If I fire this off, no one will come for my help. How can I be this stupid?'

He holsters the pistol and sheathes his swords. He starts walking towards south, where the column is going. He scratches the back of his neck and sighs. He knows he's not going to last long on his own without a horse. But then he hears a horse running towards him.

"Leo?! Leo!" He hears Jean's voice. Leo turns around and sees him running up to him. "I saw the huge chunk of smoke. What happened?"

"Something intense and stupid." Leo walks up to Jean. "Looks like you have a spare horse."

"Where's yours?" Jean asks and Leo just points at the corpse of the spare horse. Jean is feeling sick of the sight. "And Star is nowhere to be found. I hope he turns up eventually."

"Okay." Jean has to keep himself from throwing up. "Then hop on. There's an emergency."

"What kind of emergency?" Leo asks and Jean is surprised by that question.

"You don't know? Didn't you see? The right wing spotters took a serious hit." Leo gets on the horse and he sadly knows what this means.

"What happened?" He asks.

"I'll explain. But we have to..." Jean can't finish his sentence because he sees something that he's never seen before. "Hey. What is that?"

"What?" Leo is too occupied with the saddle to pay attention but Jean grabs his head and points it forward. They see the Female Titan running forward, where they are heading. 

"Is that real or am I just imagining things?" Jean asks and Leo's jaw drops at the sight. He knows that this is the ally Reiner and Bertholdt were talking about. There's no doubt in his mind.

"Let's follow it." Leo says and immediately takes off.

"H-hey! Wait!" Jean can barely keep up but he manages to catch up to Leo. "What do you think is that? An abnormal?"

"If it is, then it's a very unique one." Leo doesn't want to tell the truth he knows. Not even for Jean. He can't risk it.

"Hey. Isn't that Armin and Reiner?" Jean points ahead of them. Leo was too focused on the Female Titan to notice them. Leo quietly grunts, keeping an eye on Reiner.

"They didn't fire off a smoke signal, yet." Leo turns to Jean. "Fire one, will you? I lost my signals all together."

"Okay." Jean loads the pistol as they get closer to the two guys up ahead.

"C'mon! Work, you piece of garbage!" Armin tries to load the pistol but it's stuck. "It's an emergency!"

He gets distracted by Jean firing off the signal.

"Hey, it's all right." They both turn around. "Looks like Jean's got you covered."

"Wait. Is that Leo with him?" Armin asks but then multiple signals are fired up by the right wing spotters.

"Oh, man. That's not good." Reiner says. "The right wing spotters have suffered too many casualties to carry on."

"Yeah. Apparently most of them were wiped out by a titan ambush." Jean and Leo get next to them. "I don't know how it happened, but it was bad. Sons of bitches were lightning fast. The spotters didn't have time to react. Whoever's left is trying to hold them off but that means now there's no one on lookout duty. Talk about a setback, right? If we don't watch ourselves, we're all going to get wiped out."

"Wait.  _She_ came from that direction." Armin has an idea what that could mean. "Does that mean... could she have led the titans here like a commander?"

"Who? Her?" Jean looks at the Female Titan. "Why the hell is she running from us, by the way? Is she an abnormal?"

"No, she isn't." Armin answers. "I still don't know it's possible but... she's another human who's taken titan form. Someone who has the same power as Eren."

"Please, say you're not serious." Jean says while Leo's starting to freak out a little.

"Really?" Reiner asks. "Why do you think that?"

"Titans eat people but they're not murderers." Armin says. "Sure, they kill us in the process but that's not their intent, they just act on instinct, like any creature. This one's different. When the others went for her nape she dropped them down in cold blood. Swatted them like flies. She didn't  _eat_ them, she  _killed_ them and moved on. That's out of character, even for an abnormal. The titans that took out the right wing, I think she brought them here. Just like the Colossal and Armored, when they struck." The more Armin speaks, the less comfortable Leo feels. He thinks that this will raise suspicion for him. Armin's explaining this like someone's already told him this, and Reiner is not ruling out the possibility. "I just know it. She's not simply satisfying bloodlust, she has it in for us." Reiner stares at Armin then looks at Leo who just sends him a panicked head shake. "Or perhaps more specifically... I think she's after someone in particular. At which point, the question becomes who. And why. Hey, wait a second. Could it be Eren?"

"Eren?" Reiner asks. "He's with Levi squad. They're spearheading the right wing. Or... they were."

"Wait. Levi's team?" Jean asks while Armin looks at Reiner in shock. Leo's keeping quiet. He feels like cutting himself down just to end the stress. "I'm pretty sure you're wrong there, big guy. My copy of the plan had them in the left wing."

"That's odd because my copy of the plan had them at the front of the right wing too which now that I think about it, doesn't make sense." Armin says. "Putting them in the vanguard like that wouldn't be smart strategically."

"That's what I said!" Leo breaks his silence. "Did or did I not say that, Reiner?!" The others look at him in surprise and Reiner is feeling a little annoyed. "I told you it was stupid but nooo. I'm only Leo. Why would  _anyone_ listen to me?"

"Okay. So you were right." Reiner says and Armin is a little confused.

"Wait. What? What's he talking about?" He asks and Reiner sighs before answering.

"We talked about the plan a few days ago. Leo thought that there's no way that they would put Eren in the right wing. Of course, I trusted our copies, since his had him there, too." Reiner explains.

"And I was right to assume that was not the case." Leo says. "Which then raises the most important question."

"Where is Eren? Where could he be?" Reiner asks. This is crucial information for him and Leo.

"Why where else? The safes place in the formation." Armin answers. "And I assume at least that it's the rear center rank."

Reiner and Leo look at each other. Reiner nods and Leo sighs. He knows that somehow they will have to relay the message.

"Armin! Now's not the time to be chasing our own tails about this!" Jean says. "We're gonna get word out how dangerous this one is. Smoke signals aren't gonna cut it! At this range she will cut down the command squad. We let that happen, the formation goes to hell and we all die."

"You have a plan?" Reiner asks.

"I do." Leo says. There's a brief silence before Leo sighs and reveals his plan. "If Armin's right, and I have a feeling he is, then we need to capture her, alive. Then again, I don't know for sure if we can do that. Remember, we've never fought against a titan controlled by a human."

"You're right." Armin says. "She is much smarter than the others. We need to be careful."

"Which means that we just have to buy the Corps some time to get away, which means distraction." Jean's a little concerned about that idea but he's along with it. "Jean, you will be the vanguard here."

"What do you want me to do?" Jean asks and he sounds a little scared.

"You will charge ahead and see if you can cut her ankles. Or just try to distract her. Create an opening for us." Leo points at Reiner. "Me and Reiner then take care of her. I'm sure we will handle it just fine." There's a tense silence between the two but Reiner eventually nods. "And Armin... I need you to stay behind."

"Um... okay." Armin hesitantly says. "But... what do I have to do?"

"If the situation goes wrong and we have to pull back, or worse, one of us gets killed... you have to run away and head straight to Commander Erwin." Armin gulps as he gets an image in his head about the Female Titan killing his friends. "But I don't think there will be any need for that."

"Well... let's hope." Jean says. "I just... Is there any other way?"

"No." Leo answers immediately. Jean clenches his fists and he takes a deep breath. Armin notices the stress on him but he can't say anything right now to calm him down. He breaks the silence when he pulls his hood up.

"Pull your hood all the way over so it covers you." He says and Jean is surprised by that idea. "She won't try to kill you if she can't see her face. If she's looking for someone specific she won't mow us down unless she knows for sure we're not them."

"Good idea." Reiner says and pulls his hood up. "As far as she knows any one of us could be Eren underneath this getup. That's actually kind of an encouraging thought. Hey, you never know. Maybe we get lucky and she will be nearsighted."

"I know the feeling." Leo says and pulls his hood up.

"Not gonna lie. The way you clunged to Eren like some sort of security blanket used to creep me out but I always knew you were brilliant." Jean smiles as he pulls his hood up and Leo just rolls his eyes at that comment.

"Okay, thank you." Armin says hesitantly. "Not sure how to take this but thanks."

"Real classy, Jean." Leo says as he takes out one sword.

"I'm sure Leo can tell you about it." Reiner says with a cocky smile on his face. Leo frowns in anger and slows down. He goes around from behind next to Reiner and slaps him. "Ow! What the--"

"Shut your mouth." Leo says as he shakes his hand. It was a pretty strong slap. He left a hand print on Reiner's face. "Okay! Deport! You know your roles! Let's get her!"

"Yes!" The others say and Jean goes to the left while Leo and Reiner fall behind a little on the right. Armin stays in the middle, at a safe distance though. Leo rides on Reiner's left side and gets a closer look at the Female Titan.

"So this is the person you talked about." He says and Reiner doesn't say anything. He just smiles and nods while Leo scoffs.

"Let's slow down a little." Reiner says and Leo raises his eyebrows. 

"What are you planning?" He asks, looking back at Reiner.

"You'll see." He answers with a determined look in his face, which actually manages to scare Leo a little. He sighs and complies, slowing down with Reiner. Jean waits a little before taking off. He remembers back to the night where he was watching his fellow fallen comrades burn, and when he was holding a charred bone in his hand.

'It all depends on me. I don't want those charred bones to be dissappointed in me. I...' He takes out his sword. 'I know what I have to do now.'

He kisses his sword then jumps up. Armin doesn't notice that he his getting dangerously close to the Female Titan. She looks at him which makes him nervous. Jean shoots his wires at the Female Titan's leg but it quickly stops and turns around, ricocheting the wires off her. Jean is shocked and the titan moves her hand quickly through the air, knocking Jean's hood back. The titan then sets her sight on Armin. He tries to get away but his horse gets punched away. He gets knocked off and rolls on the ground, his gear falling off in the process.

"Armin!" Leo shouts in shock. He sees Armin's horse flying towards him.

"Leo! Look out!" Reiner yells and Leo jumps off his horse with an angry grunt as Armin's horse hits his. Reiner grabs Leo's hand and Leo is hanging from the side of the blonde's horse. They stare at each other for a brief moment. Leo is confused about why Reiner is helping him but he can't bring himself to thank him for that.

"Let go!" He yanks his arm out of Reiner's grasp as the Female Titan towers over Armin. Leo shoots his wire on her and slides around, landing in front of Armin. "Get away from him, you bitch!" He angrily says, holding up his sword. The titan and Leo stare at each other and Leo sees something strange in her eyes. Something menacing, intimidating and familiar. Shock gets to him when he realizes who this titan actually is. "You..." He quietly says and he lowers his sword a little. The titan clenches her fist though and tries to squash Leo. He gasps in shock as he is just barely able to jump away with Armin in his arms. They fall to the ground, with Leo softening the landing for Armin. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah..." Armin says with blood getting into his mouth. He coughs as Leo angrily growls and stands up.

"What the fuck was that?!" He yells, not paying attention to what he's saying.

"Leo! Armin!" Jean shoots his wires at the titan but she is quick to react, much to Jean's surprise.

'The moves on this thing. She's like a damn athlete! We are so screwed!' The titan steps aside to get into a better position. 'I didn't think this through!' Jean dodges a punch and goes around. He's ready to strike the nape but the titan protects it. 'What?! She's protecting her weak spot?!'

"Jean!" Reiner is getting close. Leo doesn't know what to do and Armin is struggling to even get up on his knees.

'Damnit! There's nothing I can do!' The titan looks at Jean and clenches her fist. 'I'm a dead man! She's gonna yank my wire!'

The titan is ready to kill him but luckily Armin gets up.

"Jean! Don't let that suicidal bastard die in vain!" He yells at the top of his lungs and the titan stops her hand. Jean gasps in surprise as he crash lands next to a tree. Leo looks back at Armin, not understanding what's going on.

"Armin? What are you doing?" He quietly asks in a frustrated tone.

"She did it! She's the one who killed him!" Armin continues. "I told him the right wing was suicide but he went along anyway. And now he's dead thanks to  _her!_ " Leo looks back at the titan who is frozen in one place. Leo smiles as he now gets what Armin is doing. He notices Reiner on the left removing his hood and approaching the titan. "She crushed my best friend! I saw it with my own eyes! He got crushed by its foot!"

Reiner jumps and shoots his wire at the nape.

'Wait. What is he doing?' Leo has no idea what's happening. Reiner gets all the way to the titan's head. The titan sees him and catches him in his head. The others are in shock, especially Leo. Reiner struggles in the hand and the titan just stares at him. He eventually gives her a wink and she covers him with her thumb and pushes him in, with blood spilling everywhere.

"Reiner... no... oh God..." The others are in shock by what they just witnessed.

"Did... did she just go rogue?" Leo asks, a bit too loudly because Armin clearly hears him. He can't think about it that though as Reiner breaks free from the titan's grasp and quickly lands next to Leo and runs towards Armin. 

"Let's go, Leo!" He picks Armin up and starts running away as Leo just stares at him in total confusion. 

"What the... huh?" Leo looks back at the Female Titan, who is staring at her palm.

 

**Rear center, don't kill Leo**

 

The titan lowers her hand and looks at Leo. He looks at her hand then back in her eyes. He smirks as he points at his own palm.

"Very smart..." He says.

"I think we bought the platoon more than enough time! I say we pack up and get the hell out of here!" Reiner shouts as he's carrying Armin. "If she doesn't have the appetite for people like you said, she won't follow us!" The titan stands up while not getting her eyes off Leo. She eventually looks away and starts running towards the given position. "Alright! Looks like she's in retreat! Poor thing's running home with her tail between her legs!" Reiner then sees that Leo is still standing in one place. "Come on, Leo!"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm coming!" Leo shouts back and he quickly gathers Armin's equipment and joins up with the others. They stop by some trees to give them some decent cover. Reiner gently puts Armin down and Leo places his gear in front of him.

"Thank you." Armin says to both of them.

"No problem." Reiner says but Leo is too angry to say anything. His emotions are running wild. He doesn't know why the Female Titan, his supposed ally, tried to kill him. "Hold on. Let me see." Reiner looks at Armin's wound. It's a very nasty cut. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm... fine." Armin says and Leo kneels down next to them.

"That was... too close." Jean says as he sits down.

"Yeah, a little." Reiner says.

"I have to admit, Reiner... you're a goddamn badass." Jean says and Reiner chuckles. Leo just stares at the latter in anger. He feels like ripping him to shreds right there but he knows he must not do it. He then sees Armin's bloody face.

"Does any of you have a bandage?" Leo asks but he gets no answer.

"They are on the horses... right?" Jean asks. He's a little out of breath.

"Now that you mention it." Reiner says and he whistles. A few seconds later, his horse shows up.

"Oh, yeah. That is... relatively easy." Jean then whistles too as Reiner takes out a bandage.

"Well... I'm not a doctor but..." He kneels behind Armin. "I'll try my best."

"Can you handle it?" Leo asks and he sits in front of Armin. Jean whistles again but his horse is no-showing.

"Like I said. I'm no doctor." Reiner answers and he starts taking care of the wound. Leo sighs and stands up. He walks to the whistling Jean. 

"No luck?" He asks as he pats Jean on the back.

"No." Jean says in a frustrated tone. Leo looks across the terrain but he can't see anything. It's empty. Not one horse or scout, not even titans. 

"Where did they get this? How old's your gear?" Reiner asks Armin as he opens the bandage. 

"Don't worry about it. It came off like it's supposed to, so it didn't brake." Armin says. "It should still be in decent shape."

"Alright. That's something. Still down on horses though." Reiner takes a look at Jean who is still trying to call his horse. "Not an ideal situation. We can't get moving again until Jean's ride shows up."

"Just my luck!" Jean rants to Leo. "Reiner's horse comes back like an old lover. Why does  _mine_ have to go AWOL?!" Jean tries again as Leo just stands next to him in silence, thinking about confronting Reiner about what happened earlier. "Damnit! We can't afford to stay out in the open like this! If worst comes to worst, two of us have to be left behind." Jean now whispers to Leo and he tenses up a little. "What are we supposed to do? Draw straws?"

They look back at Reiner and Armin. 

"Armin's hurt..." Leo says.

"And Reiner is too big to ride with safely..." Jean finishes Leo's thought. "Maybe I should just take my chances horse retrieving on foot."

"Damnit! How messed up is it that we have to even consider that?!" Leo raises his voice as he becomes more and more frustrated. "Out of the frying pan into the fire! That's what we get for nearly escaping death!" Leo walks back to the others as Jean keeps trying to reach his horse. "How are you feeling?" He asks Armin but he doesn't get an answer. Armin is too deep in his thoughts to pay attention and hear Leo. "Armin. You with me?" 

Leo shakes his hand in front of Armin's eyes and that brings him back. He gasps as he realizes that he's been zoning out.

"I guess your head is still a little shaken up, huh?" Reiner asks.

"Um... it might still be a little foggy, yeah." Armins says but Leo notices the strange tone in his voice. He's not convinced. 

"It's okay. The choice isn't going to be any easier with you thinking clearly." Reiner says as he stands up and Armin puts on his gear. "Two of us have to stay here. We need to figure out who."

Jean stops whistling and looks at Reiner. Leo looks at him too and Reiner looks dead in his eye.

"Wait a sec!" Armin breaks the tense silence. "I-I mean shouldn't we at least fire off a smoke signal first? If everyone kept going straight, row four, squad three out to be in close proximity to us by now."

"You hear the man." Leo says with a sigh. Jean takes out his pistol and fires off a purple smoke.

"Well, that's the emergency signal." He says as he puts the pistol away. "But who knows? I doubt anyone's going to see it and think 'hey, someone might need an extra horse'."

"Armin, listen." Reiner says. "We only wait three minutes. If no one comes, we have to decide who stays."

"It should be me." Armin says and Reiner is shocked by that proposition and Leo doesn't want to hear any of it.

"Forget it!" He raises his voice at Armin.

"But--"

"No but! You, are  _not_ staying here!" He steps closer to Armin. "Me and Reiner are staying!" Armin opens his mouth to object but Leo quickly shuts him down. "I don't want to hear it! I'm the highest ranked rookie here, which means  _I'm_ calling the shots! And if I say me and Reiner are staying, then me and Reiner are fucking staying!"

"Hey. Leo. Calm down. Don't need to be dramatic." Jean says as he sees someone approaching them. "Look! Somebody answered the call! Hell yes! They got two horses in tow!" The person gets closer and Jean then realizes who that actually is. "Whoah, that's...It's Krista!"

"Hey, guys! You all right?!" She asks and stops in front of them. Both Leo and Jean are surprised to see their horses with her.

"Well, damn! That's my runaway!" Jean chuckles as he steps to his horse. "Easy, Buchwald! It's okay."

Leo walks to Star and caresses his forehead.

"Tough bastard." He says as he cracks a smile. "And very smart."

"Poor things." Krista says. "They were both running like the Devil was on their tails. You you all fought a titan?" Krista then gasps as she notices Armin's bandage. "Oh, no! Armin! Your head! You've been hurt!"

"It's nothing. I promise." Armin calms Krista down.

"I'm impressed someone actually answered our distress signal." Reiner says, making Krista smile.

"Well, I wasn't far away so... that and I found the horses." She says.

"What the hell were you doing all the way out here?" Leo whispers to Star as he carefully adjusts the saddle.

"A lot of people wouldn't have risked to track over here." Reiner continues. "You're as noble as the steeds you tame. We're all in your debt."

"It was nothing." Krista says with tears ready to leave her eyes. "I'm just... I'm just glad you're all okay. What would we do without you?"

And all of a sudden, the Sun shines through Krista's face. Her face shines as bright as a diamond, making the boys feel rather nervous and uneasy.

'She's an angel...'

'A goddess...'

'One day my wife.'

'The fuck is going on?' Leo looks back and forth between the boys and Krista and just chuckles. 'If only you guys knew...'

"Okay." Krista wipes away her tears. "I suppose we better rejoin the formation."

"Yeah. The'll order a retreat any minute now." Jean says as he hops on his horse. Leo climbs on too and offers his hand to Armin.

"Ride with me, Armin." He says. Armin gladly takes the offer with a nod. He gets up Star behind Leo. "Hold on tight." Armin nods again and hesitantly wraps his arms around Leo. Leo feels a little uneasy and even blushes a little. Thankfully for him no one notices it. Except for Reiner, of course, who just smiles, but doesn't say anything. "Alright. Follow me!"

Leo kicks Star and he starts leading the group back to the formation. They ride for a solid minute without running into trouble when Jean decides to speak up.

"I'll just say it. I'm glad we survived but heading back after only an hour? Not really something to be proud of if you ask me. And while we're on the subject. Is anyone else curious why she's headed  _away_ from the command squad?"

"She?" Krista asks but then a dozen green smoke signals are fired up in the distance.

"Green smoke?" Jean asks in a shock.

"Looks like we're not heading back after all." Armin says. "Just changing course."

"Yeah, but... that doesn't make sense." Krista states the obvious fact they all know.

"What the hell? Is Commander Erwin out of his mind?!" Jean asks and he is getting more frustrated.

"Everyone of us has the authority to declare the mission failed." Reiner says. "Why isn't anyone speaking up? Is the command squad too far ahear to see the signals?"

"Possibly." Armin says but Leo quickly shakes his head.

"Doubt it." He says. "The whole point of the formation is to see the signals. That means that the commander must not go too far ahead. And hey. One of you should pass the signal along. I lost my flares."

"I got you." Reiner says and loads his pistol.

"It's clear what we have to do. Let's just trust the commander." Reiner fires the signal. They continue to ride forward and they are slowly but surely catching up.

"Leo?" Armin whispers to Leo.

"What?" Leo looks slightly back at his passenger.

"I forgot to ask you but... how did you end up behind us?" Armin asks the question Leo is too embarrassed to answer honestly.

"I let my guard down." He says. "That's something I'll never do again."

Armin is a little concerned about that answer but he decides not to say anything. Leo looks down at Armin's arms wrapped around him and he remembers back to the talk they had the previous night.

 

Leo is sitting in the same mess hall where Reiner and Bertholdt revealed their true identities to him. This is the night before the expedition and he can't seem to bring himself to sleep. He lets out a big sigh as he is just sitting silently. He doesn't even know what his role is in Reiner and Bertholdt's plan. All he knows is that he can't reveal it to anyone, and he didn't. Yet. He tried once and he almost got caught. The two traitors have been keeping an eye on him. He has no idea what to do. He rests his head on the table when he suddenly hears the door open. He is too uninterested to react though. He doesn't even care if Captain Levi finds him. He doesn't like it when people are awake in the middle of the night.

"Leo?" But luckily for him, it's Armin. "W-what... what are you doing?"

"Nothing." Leo answers honestly. "Like, literally. Nothing." He gets his head up to look at Armin. "And you?"

"Well, I... had a... bad dream." Armin shyly says. "Then I didn't see you in your bed, so... I decided to... look for you."

"That's very nice. Thanks." Armin sits down next to Leo. They sit in awkward silence while Armin occasionally looks at Leo. He notices that the brunette is shaking his leg. 

"Leo? Can I... ask you a question?" Armin asks carefully and Leo's leg stops shaking immediately.

"Sure." Leo nods as he takes out a flask and takes a sip. He offers Armin but he refuses with a head shake. Armin takes a deep breath before asking.

"Just... why did you join the Survey Corps?" There it is. The question that's been on everyone's mind. Why did Leo join the Survey Corps? For the past month, his friends have been wondering about that constantly, and whenever someone asked him, he just brushed it off and changed subject immediately. "You know... it's strange. We've been trying to figure out your reason but--"

"You never will." Leo cuts Armin off. "Or at least, most of you won't." Leo drinks again. There's silence again and Armin knows that he's not going to get anywhere like this. He tries to say something but Leo starts talking first. "And you? What was  _your_ reason?"

Leo has a pretty good idea what the answer is gonna be but he wants to hear it from Armin. The blonde's eyes widen and his legs starts shaking.

"Uhhh... My reason?" Armin tries to come up the best way to explain to Leo so he understands it. "It's... the outside world."

Leo was definitely not expecting that answer.

"The outside world?" He asks confusedly.

"Yes." Armin isn't very sure about what he has to say to not seem like a lunatic. "Now, I know this might sound strange to you but... There was this, book I had, a while back." Leo sits and listens to him with his eyebrows raised. "In that book... there was information. About the outside world. The world beyond the walls. It's... beautiful." Leo doesn't know what to say so he just keeps listening. "Water like fire, land of ice, fields covered in sands." Leo notices the sparkle in Armin's eyes. "And best of all, the ocean. It's so deep, you can't even see the bottom. And the majority of the world is covered by it. And it's all salt."

"That is a lot of salt." Leo says after a long pause. He chuckles a little as he drinks from his flask.

"That's the thing. It never runs out." Armin informs him, with the same sparkling eyes. Leo is actually fascinated by Armin's enthusiasm. 

"Must be incredible." Leo stares at Armin as the blonde nods. Leo chuckles and takes a sip. "So... that's it, huh?" He lets out a sigh. "Not what I expected."

"Huh? What did you expect?" Armin asks. Leo hesitates for a few moments as this is a little uncomfortable topic.

"I thought it's Eren, you know..." He says and Armin understands it right away.

"Oh, that?" He tilts his head down. "Well, he is my best friend, after all. And he did save me in Trost, so..."

"Saved you?" Leo has never heard about this. "How?"

"Back when... the others got devoured." Shiver runs down Armin's spine as he remembers back to that moment. "I was about to be, too, but Eren saved me from the titan's mouth."

"So that's how he got in there." Leo finally understands how it all led up to him getting punched in by Eren's titan form.

"Yeah." Armin smiles. "He sacrificed himself for me. That's something I will be thankful for. For the rest of my life."

Leo is shocked to hear all of this. The reason why Armin is still sitting with him in this mess hall is Eren. Then again, Eren's the reason they both are sitting here. Leo finishes his drink and puts the flask away.

"Well, that was interesting. Good talk." He scratches the back of his head.

"Wait. I told mine, now it's your turn." Armin demands as Leo sits up. "Be fair and tell me why you joined the Survey Corps."

Leo stops by the door. He thinks about it long and hard. Truth or not? That is the question.

"Why I joined?" He puts his hand on the door. He is more than ready to leave. "Why?" His hand starts shaking which Armin notices. Leo then lets out a sigh and calms down a little. "You know what?" He turns around and the nervous feeling is suddenly gone. "Let's make a deal. If we survive tomorrow... the first thing I'm gonna do is tell you my secret."

"S-secret? Is it that serious?" Armin is actually worried now.

"Well... the secret is not my reason for joining. It's more than that. It's just partially my reason." Leo tries to explain it the best way possible but Armin doesn't seem to understand it.

"Does anyone know?" Leo's smile fades away a little as he gets images of Reiner, Bertholdt and Mikasa in his head.

"No." He answers firmly but Armin looks a bit disappointed. "Then again. Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"Why?" Armin crosses his arms.

"Because the first thing you would do is ask them." Leo has a blank expression on his face as he turns around and opens the door. "But it's written on your face. You already know I'm lying, right?" Armin gasps and stutters as Leo laughs. When he stops, he takes one more look at Armin. "But hey. You won't have to worry about tomorrow. I will protect you. I'll keep you safe."

"A-a lot of you will be there to do that." Armin says with a slightly red face.

"Yeah... but I will be the strongest on the right so... you know." Leo shrugs and smiles at Armin. "Goodnight."

"Yeah. To you, too." Leo walks out and he then starts thinking about what Armin said.

'So, Eren saved you, huh?' He walks to a window and looks outside at the moon. 'Eren. This is something I never thought I will do but... in the near future, I will thank you. If I have the chance.'

He chuckles again and then makes his way back to his room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 21 preview: The mission is going well, for all sides. Leo and Reiner confront each other, and Leo's waiting for an opening. He knows he can't wait too long though. He has to be the one to take action. But if he does, it can easily cost him his life. Especially if he plans on going up against the Female Titan.
> 
> Chapter 21: The 57th Expedition Part Two: The Unexpected


	21. The 57th Expedition Part Two: The Unexpected

His hands are actually shaking. A drop of sweat is lurking on his face. He's careful, observing. Looking and waiting for the right moment, and thinking about what happened a few minutes ago, when the Female Titan almost crushed him, on purpose. He's been checking on Reiner every now and then but he is not really bothered by any of it and that annoys Leo to the core. He stays calm though. He knows he can't act just yet. He has to wait. That's something he always has the patience for but he's running low now. Armin is sitting behind him, hands wrapped around his waist. Armin stares at Leo, and he's also thinking about the earlier events. A lot of things bug him at the same time but all lead to the same thing: There's something going on with Leo.

_"Did she just go rogue?"_

'What did you mean by that?' Armin rests his head on Leo's back, which the latter reacts to with a smile. 'If the Female Titan is in fact controlled by a human, then...' Armin gets his head up. 'You know something, Leo. Is that what you will tell me? If we survive? But then again...' Armin remembers back to how the Female Titan tried to kill Leo. 'She surprised him. Maybe that wasn't planned? Or...'

"Heads up! We're approaching a group!" Leo warns the others and that knocks Armin out of his train of thoughts. "And a forest!"

Armin leans to the side to see what's ahead. A forest of giant trees. Then they catch up to those in front.

"Rookies?!" The squad leader turns around. "I thought we lost you!"

"We're okay, sir!" Leo answers. "But there's a huge forest! What are we going to do?! Rush through it, or what?!"

"Commander Erwin sent a message! Looks like you didn't get it. We go around!" Leo raises his eyebrow in surprise and the others don't get this judgment either. They also see that the center rank is entering the forest so the confusion level rises above what's comfortable.

"What about the center rank?" Reiner asks. "They are going straight in!"

"Only they are allowed to get in!" He quickly gets an answer. "Follow me, and wait for further instructions!"

The rookies all look at each other and Reiner raises his shoulders. Leo shrugs at him and Jean sighs.

"You're kidding me. What is this?! A sightseeing tour?!" He rants angrily. "How much further they want us to stray off course? This is ridiculous!"

"Bizarre... but so be it." Armin says. "Commander Erwin must have something in mind. Perhaps the situation compels him to improvise."

"That gives me a lot of confidence." Jean rolls his eyes. "Maybe he's looking for a nice, shady spot to throw all the rookies a celebratory picnic."

"Uh... I rather doubt that." Armin says and Leo just sighs as he can't believe that Armin took Jean seriously.

"Lighten up." Jean chuckles. "Point is I'm praying he doesn't intend for us to camp here. Not with that Female Titan on our ass. We'd be sitting ducks. He's gotta know that. Yeah, we're just passing through on our way to something else. No one in his right mind would make a stop here."

"All soldiers, halt!" That assumption quickly gets debunked by the squad leader.

"What were you saying?" Leo looks at Jean and he is even more confused as he doesn't know what's going on. They all stop and tie their horses to the trees and then stand in front of the squad leader.

"Alright, rookies! Listen up! We're assuming intercept position within the trees! Draw swords and stand by! If any titans attempt to enter the forest, stop them no matter at what cost!" The orders are given but the answers are not.

"Uh... E-excuse me, sir. What exactly is the--"

"I've given you an order!" The squad leader quickly shuts Jean up and goes up a tree. Leo then walks up to Reiner and leans to his hear.

"Okay. What the hell is going on?" Jean says as the others are standing in silence for a few seconds before some of them follow the squad leader. Leo then walks up to Reiner and leans to his ear.

"I want to talk." He whispers. "Let's sneak away."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Reiner whispers back as he draws his swords. "Let's wait for a titan. Everyone will be focused on it."

And then he heads up the trees. Leo just stares at him as he knows why Reiner would want to talk to him. He even assumes that Reiner knows why Leo wants to talk to him. He sighs and lands a bit further away from Reiner but doesn't go out of his line of sight. They only have wait a couple minutes for a titan to come.

"Heads up! Ten meter class approaching!" The squad leader warns everyone but Leo and Reiner take this in another way. They immediately climd down the trees without anyone seeing them and they go way deep into the forest. They land on the branch of one of the tallest trees and they stand away from each other. Reine's looking at Leo with a serious face while Leo is just staring ahead towards the center of the forest.

"You can start." Leo says while he sheathes his swords. "I have a lot more to ask from you."

"Alright then." Reiner says after hesitating for a few seconds. "I'll get straight to the point." Reiner puts away his swords too. "Did you tell Armin about our plans?"

Leo hears the serious and threatening tone in Reiner's voice. He even sees him keeping his hands close to his swords. Leo sighs before answering.

"No. I didn't." He rubs the side of his head. "He's smart, you know. I did warn you though, that if there's someone who will catch on quickly, it will be Armin."

"Yeah, I know." Reiner lets out an annoyed groan. "But still. Don't you think he caught on a bit quicker than what's normal?"

"What? You mean there are other people who figured it out and you were counting in your head to wait for Armin to figure it out, too?" Leo almost laughs after he asks that question and Reiner doesn't know what to say. "He's smart. Way smarter than you think."

"I know he's smart, but come on. This is too fishy." Reiner doesn't want to give up the thought of Leo telling someone about their plan. Leo lets out an annoyed sigh and shrugs.

"I don't know what to tell you." He rubs the hilt of his sword with his thumb. "I didn't say anything." They stare at each other with Reiner crossing his arms and sighing. "Was that all?"

Leo and Reiner stare at each other and the tension is felt by both sides. Reiner puts his arms down and just nods. Leo sighs and looks down at his foot his tapping the branch with. His grip around his sword strenghtens and the tapping stops.

"So... I bet you want to know why--" Reiner gasps as he sees Leo quickly turning around and jumping towards him. "He-hey!"

Leo pulls out his sword and stabs Reiner in the elbow. He pushes him all the way to the trunk of the tree and pins him there. Reiner tries to go for his sword but Leo uses his other sword to stab him in the other elbow. He does this with Reiner's knees, too. In a matter of seconds, Reiner has been stuck to the trunk by his elbows and knees.

"There." Leo straightens up as he wipes Reiner's blood off his face. He takes a look at Reiner and feels like laughing.

"You... you bastard!" Reiner shouts at Leo as he tries to force himself out but Leo puts another blade through his stomach. Reiner groans painfully and he gives Leo an angry and determined look. He grinds his teeth and him and Leo just sarcastically smiles at him.

"Bastard? Me? Nah." Leo spins the controlling device in his hand. "I'm at least not responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people." He leans closer to Reiner's face. "But that's not important now, is it?" Reiner grunts and Leo looks into his eyes. Reiner is pissed but Leo knows that he should have known better. "Be honest. What did you expect? That I will just let this go by not saying or doing anything? So I'll ask you, only once, and you're going to answer me honestly. Got it?"

"I'll try my best." Reiner smiles at Leo but he doesn't find it very amusing or funny.

"Okay. Why... did she try... to kill me?" Leo cracks his knuckles and closes his hand.

"Look, I... I-I don't... know. I--" Reiner said the worst possible thing he could've, and Leo proves that by punching him in the nose.

"Stop bullshiting me!" Leo screams into Reiner's face. "Was that your plan all along? To kill me while my guard is down? Because if that is true, I'm going to be very pissed and disappointed."

"What?! No! I'm..." Reiner shakes his head and spits some blood out which dripped from his nose. "I'm telling the truth. And I did tell her to not kill you."

"Oh, really? When? Did you write that also in her palm?" Reiner looks at Leo in shock.

"What?" Reiner is really confused about how Leo knows that. "How--"

"Oh, come on, dude. It was obvious." Leo remembers back to that moment. "I saw her look at her palm when you got out of there. I even pointed at  _my_ palm whe she looked at me. I'm not an idiot, Reiner. And the worst thing you can do is underestimate me. That was your biggest mistake."

"Bravo, Leo. Bravo." Reiner laughs and spits out more blood. "What else do you know?"

"Well..." Leo rubs the back of his head. "I know I said that I will only ask you once, but let me ask it again, with replacing the key word. Why... did...  _Annie_... try, to kill me?"

"Wh-what?" Reiner is again shocked by Leo's unexpected knowledge. "How do you know this?!"

"Oh, come on, _dude._  That was obvious, too. You and Bertholdt working together, with someone else, who's titan has the most blank but also the most terrifying expression?" Leo feels like letting out a huge laughter. "And when I looked into her eyes, I didn't see a stranger. I saw Annie. So it wasn't hard to put the pieces together."

"Well I'll be damned." Reiner is impressed by Leo. Not something he would've expected from him. "I always took you for a big mouthed jackass."

"Like I said." Leo spreads his arms. "Don't underestimate me." He drops his hands down and sighs. "So, go on. Talk."

"Fine." Reiner sighs in defeat as he doesn't find a way out of this without transforming. "Since you know who we are talking about, I can be a little more honest. I don't why Annie was trying to kill you." Leo scoffs and throws his arms up but Reiner quickly shuts him down. "But, but,  _but..._ she wasn't very keen on working with you."

"Really? Why is that?" Leo crosses his arms and raises his eyebrow. "You guys sure trusted me too much."

"I-I don't know." Reiner shakes his head. "When we told her, she freaked out. She was downright furious. Saying things like: He's a piece of shit. Or: We shouldn't trust him ever. She called you a bastard, a son of a bitch. I know she is cold but I've never heard her use foul language like that." Leo doesn't know how to react to this. This is not what he expected to hear today. "What did you do or say to her?"

"Nothing!" Leo gets defensive. "I mean, what could I say to offend Annie of all people?!"

"Granted, you two  _were_ arguing just before we joined the Survey Corps." Reiner reminds Leo but he doesn't need his Reiner's help to remember that moment. It's been stuck in his head for the whole month. "What was it about? When I asked Annie, she basically told me to fuck off."

"It was..." Leo sighs and shakes his head. "It was nothing. I only said fuck you to her, and that is not nearly enough to piss her off! And hell, she alluded to the fact that I'm not her friend."

"What?" Reiner chuckles. "You though she thought of you as a friend?"

"Isn't she friend of yours?" Reiner chuckles at that thought.

"I... think she hates me." He tilts his head down and Leo doesn't get at all how these people are even able to work together but he knows his time is limited.

"Anyway, that's not something I care about now." Leo brushes this topic away. "But, since you are in the perfect position..." Leo can't help but smile at Reiner who sends back a sarcastic one. "I think I can ask you more."

"I'm not revealing anything to you." Reiner quickly warns Leo.

"Then I'll kill you." Leo points his sword at Reiner.

"Yeah, right. I have my goal and I'm wounded, so the second you swing at me, I'll--" Reiner quickly stops himself and Leo cracks a smirk.

"So that's how it works, huh?" Leo sheathes his sword and Reiner curses under his breath. "You have to injure yourself and you have to have a goal in mind? Or you just said that just because you felt like it?"

"Huh. You got jokes, right?" Reiner frowns at Leo but Leo's not intimidated at all.

"That's good to know." He cracks his own neck. "Alright. Since you were pretty vague on this, I guess you can tell me a bit more. What are you trying to accomplish by killing the rest of humanity?"

"That is what you want to know..." Reiner looks down, thinking about whether it is a good idea or not to reveal this to Leo. "Well, it won't hurt anyone if I told you." He takes a deep breath. "We were sent here, from... somewhere. Refer to it as... our hometown."

"Hometown?" Leo crosses his arms.

"Yes. That's all I say about it." Reiner continues. "Even when, you should know something about it. All this time spent bullshitting us, and you're still doing it."

"What are you talking about?" Leo raises an eyebrow and just stares at Reiner, waiting for an answer, and getting more pissed as time passes. "What are you talking about?!"

"Nothing." Reiner casually and quietly says. "Nevermind. I'm just, tired. That's all." Leo feels like there's something he should know but he doesn't press anymore about it. "We are here to... We are not here, to kill humanity. We are here for... the Coordinate."

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a power, to control the titans." Reiner reveals this crucial information and Leo reacts the way anybody would.

"What?!" He freaks out. "Don't bullshit me!"

"Come on, Leo." Reiner looks at the brunette. "We are living in a world where there are giant, naked monsters roaming around and people who can turn into them, but a power to control them is something you don't believe?" Leo tries to respond to that but he sees that that is a fair point. "Anyways, that's what we want."

Leo turns around and starts walking back and forth to think about this newly revealed information. This just made this a whole lot more interesting. After a few minutes, he comes to a conclusion and stops in front of Reiner.

"And you think Eren has it, right? The Coordinate?" Reiner starts feeling a little worried and Leo notices it on him.

"That is what I'm afraid of. It's a possibility." Leo is actually surprised that Reiner is afraid, considering that he is the Armored Titan. One of the strongest titans ever encountered. "That's why we want to take him back. To our aforementioned hometown."

"I see. It would suck if Eren has it, right?" Leo teases Reiner a little. "That would be horrible... right?"

"Shut up!" Reiner snaps but then realizes that this is what Leo exactly wants, as he sees him with a cocky smile on his face. "If I transform, Leo... you are dead. You know that, right? Your blades don't do shit against me."

"Well, then let's hope it won't have to come to that." Leo taps Reiner on the head who moves it away. "Alright. Three more questions. Is there more of you?" Leo's question shocks Reiner and it starts reminding him of a certain moment in his life. "Someone I should know about? I don't know why, but I don't think that you would come here just the three of you and then reveal it to me that: 'Yes, that's all of us. We are definitely not hiding anyone to surprise you and eliminate you when you don't expect it at all.'"

Reiner's eyes widen and he starts shaking a little when he remembers back to what happened five years ago. When they came here. When he lost someone he cared about. All because of him. He blames himself. There is no one else to blame.

"No." He answers, though it wasn't very confident or convincing.

"So there is. Good to know." And Leo saw through it immediately but he sees what kind of state Reiner is in, so he doesn't push it any further. "Two more questions. Reiner..." Leo steps closer to the blonde and leans close to his face and grabs one of the blades stuck into Reiner's elbow. "You ever think about death?"

Leo then proceeds to take every blade out of Reiner's body. Reiner falls on to of Leo but he ducks end throws Reiner over him and he falls flat on his back with a painful grunt and a loud crashing sound. Reiner coughs as he can barely move with his injuries. Leo looks at him as he is covered by Reiner's blood and slowly lets go of all the blades in his hands. He leans on the tree and slowly sits down. Reiner tries to turn around but he quickly realizes it that if he does that, he might fall. Then suddenly, a singing voice is heard.

 

 _O, Death._  
  _O, Death.  
__Won't you spare me over 'til another year?_

 

  
Reiner looks up and sees that it is Leo who is singing. Their eyes meet and Leo just smiles and continues.

 

  

  _Well, what is this that I can't see.  
__With ice cold hands takin' hold of me._

 

 

 

 

His voice is deep, powerful, but also calm, and determined. But Reiner can also hear fear. And he is right. Leo is afraid. He knows he can't come back from what is about to happen. 

 

 

 

_Well, I am death, none can excel._  
_I'll open the door to heaven or hell._  
_O, death.  
_ _S_ _omeone would pray.  
_ _Could you wait to call me another day?_

 

 

"Leo?" Reiner tries to stop him but Leo is not listening. He just keeps looking up and even closes his eyes.

 

  _O, Death  
__O, Death  
__Won't you spare me over 'til another year?_

 

"Leo!" Reiner then shouts and Leo stops. He wanted to continue but realizes that this is enough. He closes his mouth and opens his eyes. The sun is glaring into them. He squints and smiles before looking at Reiner. "What the hell was that?"

"So. Are you going to answer the question?" Leo's tone is noticeably different. Reiner tries to get up but his injuries haven't healed yet.

"Go to hell!" He is close to losing his patience.

"I guess not." Leo chuckles and lets out a relieved sigh. He chuckles again which then slowly turns into a loud and hysterical laugh. Reiner's eyes widen with shock and he manages sit up. Leo stops laughing then he looks straigth into Reiner's eyes.

"Reiner. Last question." Leo adjusts his collar just to annoy Reiner a bit further. "Do you know why we are here in this forest?" Reiner becomes confused and he starts thinking about this question. He knows there's a reason why Leo would ask that after what just happened. "I mean, it is strange, isn't it? Annie shows up, attacks the right wing, then we get to this forest and we are supposed to keep titans out while the center rank goes into the forest, and that means Eren and the Levi Squad did, too. Strange, right?"

Reiner starts putting the pieces back together as Leo just keeps staring at him with a cocky, smug, arrogant and teasing half-smile on his face. Leo starts tapping his knee with his finger as he remembers back to a day when he took a huge gamble, and it paid off.

 

It's very dark and it's very deep in the middle of the night but that doesn't bother Erwin. He is still awake and is looking through the documents of the newly joined cadets. There isn't much of them, especially when compared to previous years. He just analyzes them, and starts learning their names. He hopes to see great things from them. He then hears something knocking on his window. He wonders what that is and then he sees someone hanging off the side of the building looking into his office. Erwin walks to the window and opens it to see Leo there.

"What are you doing?" Erwin asks and he notices that Leo is completely terrified.

"C-can I..." He uncomfortably gulps. "Can I come in? I-I h-ha-have..."

Leo takes a deep breath but then Erwin holds his hand up.

"Calm down. What happened?" Leo can't stop shaking but he is still able to quickly go into the office. "What is the meaning of this? You must have a solid reason to come here, considering the fact that you can't stop shaking."

"I'm... I'm sorry, commander." Leo leans on his knees. "But it is very urgent." He then quickly manages to calm down and get a hold of himself. "I know... who the..." Leo straightens up and looks Erwin in his eyes. "Armored and Colossal Titans are."

He did it. He told Erwin something he wasn't supposed to. He had to think about it for a long time, and it ocured to him just a few days before the expedition that he should risk it. This can easily backfire on him and he knows it.

"What are you saying?" Erwin is rather shocked to hear that.

"They... they revealed themselves to me. I-I don't... know why." Leo is now more scared than ever before. Every night, Reiner and Bertholdt, especially Reiner, have been checking every night if he is still sleeping. Leo noticed this when he was awake once when he just couldn't sleep but he didn't want to leave his bed and then heard Reiner get down from his bed and walk to Leo's. That then happened on the following days, too. Leo had a couple of sleepless nights. "But... I won't tell you who they are yet."

"And why is that?" Erwin asks but then the door suddenly opens. Leo gasps in shock as he turns around towards the door. He expects Reiner and Bertholdt to come through it.

"Looks like it's about to rain." But it's not them. It's Captain Levi. He stops in the doorway as he is surprised to see Leo there. "What's going on here?"

"Levi. Come in quick, and lock the door." Erwin says and Leo sighs in relief.

"Whatever you say." Levi hesitates first but decides to go along. He does what Erwin told him. "So, care to explain what the hell is a rookie doing in your office in the middle of the night?"

"Before you think about anything wrong, it's something important." Erwin quickly shoves any wrong thoughts away. "Leo here claims that he knows who the Armored and Colossal Titans are."

"For real? That's a bold claim, kid." Levi says but Leo is more surprised that Erwin knew instantly his name. They haven't even seen each other this whole month yet. 

"It's not a claim, sir. It's the truth." Leo speaks more calmly this time. He knows he's screwed either way now. "They revealed themselves to me, for unknown reasons. I've known this for more than a week now, but I couldn't tell you yet. They were monitoring my every step."

"Then go on. It's just us here. Who are they?" Levi asks Leo. "Tell us so then we can capture them and kill them."

"No." Leo quickly responds and the two veterans are shocked to hear that.

"What did you say?" Levi is a little impatient at this point.

"There's a third man, and I don't know who that is yet." Leo tells them and the two become a bit worried now. 

"You mean there's even more of them? Great." Levi clicks his tongue in frustration but Erwin puts his hand the captain's shoulder.

"Calm down, Levi." He says. "I mean after all, isn't that what I assumed a few days ago?"

"I guess so, but still. I don't like this." Levi says.

"I won't reveal their identities. Yet." Leo says. "That would just make you impatient, knowing that two of the most dangerous people on Earth are walking past you. I will tell you when I find out who the third man is but I won't make promises."

"So why did you bother to tell us this?" Erwin asks. "If they are monitoring every step of yours, they probably know you are missing."

"Don't bet on that." Leo shakes his head. "They only check on me once at night. That already happened. And besides, if they saw me leave, they'd stopped me. But I wanted to warn you of an attack. Their plan is to capture Eren Yeager."

"Yeager? What do they want from him?" Levi turns around and crosses his arms.

"I don't know. They didn't tell me. I bet it has something to do with his titan powers." Leo's leg starts shaking and Erwin sees it.

"Okay, Leo. I see you're stressed. That's enough." He walks up to Leo and puts his out. "Thank you for sharing this with us."

Leo is shocked to see Erwin offer him a handshake and he hesitates a bit before he takes it.

"Come on. Take his hand, kid. He trusts you." Levi insists and that is enough for Leo to snap back and take the handshake. "Now we just have to prepare for this attack."

"Indeed." Erwin sighs. "Go now, Leo. Keep a low profile, and don't do anything that would raise suspicion for the traitors. Understand?"

"Y-yeah. Yes!" Leo gulps in fear but then he salutes. "Commander. Captain. Thank you."

He nods at both of them.

"No. Thank  _you._ " Erwin says and Leo hesitantly leaves with with a proud smile on his face.

"Do you really trust him?" Levi asks after Leo closes the door.

"Do you?" Erwin turns around to look at Levi.

"He took a serious risk tonight. I have to commend that." He says and Erwin smiles. Leo silently gets back to his bed just in time, because he hears Reiner getting down from his bed to check on Leo. The one time Reiner checks two times, and Leo picked this night to tell Erwin what's going on. Typical.

 

"You son of a bitch!" Reiner quickly figures out what Leo has been alluding to this whole time. "Annie was right! We should have never trusted you!"

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't reveal your identities." Leo stands up as Reiner is still struggling to stand up. "I didn't know who the third man was, so I didn't want to risk it. And now that there's a fourth guy, it just makes my situation harder." Leo laughs and when he stops he sends a threatening look towards Reiner. "But when I find out who that is, all of you will fall beneath our feet. Remember that."

"Yeah. Right!" Reiner is almost fully healed and Leo can see that. He decides that he prefers Reiner stabbed so he goes for a blade but then suddenly a loud scream is heard in the entire forest. It's horrifying and very, very loud. It sounds like a trapped animal calling for help, and Reiner knows exactly what that is. When it stops, he starts laughing.

"What the...? What the hell was that?!" Reiner starts laughing louder and then Leo hears multiple footsteps getting louder and louder.

"You know, Leo. Annie just used her titan powers." Reiner says after he's done laughing. Leo then looks to his right to see a swarm of titans coming towards them. "You... are... fucked!"

Reiner screams and pounces towards Leo but he is ready for him. He ducks and throws Reiner over him by his arm. Leo doesn't let go and stomps on Reiner's face as he breaks his hand. Reiner lets out a painful scream as the titans pass them by.

"She called for reinforcements?! So she  _is_ a commander!" Leo comes to that conclusion and then just kicks Reiner off the branch who lands hard on the ground and almost gets stomped on by the titans. "Where are you going?! Care if I join you?!"

He quickly jumps off the tree and starts moving with the pack. He notices that they don't care about him so he casually makes his way to the lead titan and he even starts killing some of them and sure enough, he sees where they are going. Annie is trapped by the Survey Corps and a small titan breaks through and grabs on her leg.

'They ignored us and went straight for _her?!'_ Erwin wonders who is standing on a tall tree.

"Commander!" Erwin gasps when he hears Leo's voice and sees the dozens of titans coming their way. "She called them here! It was her! We need to keep them away!"

The titans surround Annie and Leo is the only one who is in there taking care of them at first.

"You heard the man! What are you waiting for?!" Erwin yells. "All hands! Commence combat! Defend the Female Titan at all costs!"

Captain Levi, Hanji, Mike, Moblit and more scouts join Leo and start taking out the titans. It's a war zone. Titans are dropping left and right but more and more break through. The titans are ripping the Female Titan apart and blood flies everywhere.

"No!" Hanji yells. Erwin watches in horror as his fellow comrades are desperately trying to keep the Female Titan safe but it's not working. Blood drops on his face and it vaporizes immediately. The Female Titan's arms and head gets ripped off and Erwin has enough.

"All hands, withdraw!" He yells out the order and everyone gets away from the horde. "Redeploy the formation! Return to Karanes district!"

It is a horrifying sight. Multiple titans are devouring the Female Titan and the scouts can't do anything but watch. They are covered in blood and out of breath. Leo lands next to Erwin and sits down. His breathing is fast and he takes a look at his hands. It is smoking heavily.

"We've been bested." Erwin says but Levi doesn't want to accept it.

"Don't give me that crap!" He says as he wipes the blood off his face. "Not now. Not yet!"

"Think about it." Erwin tries to convince him. "The enemy was prepared to make sacrifices. Enormous ones." Leo looks at Erwin and he is genuinely concerned about the look on his face. He doesn't know if Erwin is scared, or impressed. "So committed to maintaining her secret, she would rather let herself be cannibalized than exposed."

"That whole song and dance in the courtroom and this is what we've got to show for it." Levi is really worried now about what's going to happen. "We scurry back with our tail between our legs. Eren's right back in chains, or worse."

"We'll jump off that bridge when we come to it. Right now, our only concern is getting back without sustaining further casualties. However we can." Erwin then looks at Leo who is cleaning his blades. "And what are you doing here?"

Levi looks at Leo, too and Leo stops cleaning his blades. He looks at Erwin with an angry look on his face.

"I had to come here." He says and stands up. "Commander." He walks up to Erwin and leans closer to him. "I know who she is." He whispers to make sure no one hears him. Erwin is happy to hear that but before he can ask him who she is, Leo brings him the bad news. "There's only one problem. There's a fourth one, too. And I have no idea where or who that person is. They kept it away from me."

Erwin doesn't say anything and just stands in silence while Leo is waiting for a response. He finds it strange that Erwin is not reacting at all.

"I'll gather up my squad." Levi says and he is ready to head out.

"Not yet, Levi." Erwin turns around and Leo knows exactly why Erwin stopped him. "First, replenish your blades and fuel."

"I can deal with what I've got. We're running against the clock as it is." Levi says then goes on the branch Erwin and Leo are standing on. "And besides. If she is a human controlling a titan, I bet she got out of that mess while we were dealing with the other titans. I have to catch up to them, or they will run into a trap."

"I have a solution for that." Leo says after a few seconds of tense silence. "I will hold her up."

"No. You will die." Erwin quickly shuts Leo's plan down. "You have valuable information that will help us greatly. We can't afford to lose you."

"And you think we can afford losing the Levi Squad, and potentially Eren?" Leo asks and Erwin doesn't want to respond to that, knowing that both Leo and Levi wouldn't like his answer. "This person... the Female Titan. I know her. She was... a friend of mine. I know I'm stronger than her. If I engage her, she will have no choice but to fight me."

"Leo. I understand but--"

"If I don't make it back..." Leo interrupts Erwin. "Go to Armin Arlert. He will know some answers."

"Armin? And you think we can trust him?" Levi asks but Leo doesn't really know what the correct respond is.

"It seems like he's figuring it out quicker than I and the Armored Titan thought. He's smart. Very cunning. A genius." Just the thought of Armin brings a smile to Leo's face. "I trust him, so you can, too. I can't risk revealing their identities just yet. I'm concerned about the fourth one."

"You trust him but you don't trust us?" Levi steps forward. "How are we supposed to trust you then?"

"Because you already did." Leo says and motions his head to the side, referring to the remains of the Female Titan. "We are running out of time. Please." Leo now begs to Erwin and the commander is having a huge dilemma. "Armin could be a mole, I'm not ruling it out. It's unlikely though. Just wait for him to talk. He'll come to you eventually."

"Very well then." Erwin sighs and Levi is just standing in silence. "Go. Protect the Levi Squad."

"Thank you." Leo smiles and then Hanji lands behind them.

"Nice to see you, Leo." She says as Leo turns around. "So, are we going back, Erwin?" Hanji and Leo walk past each other and Hanji is confused about why Leo is walking to that direction. "Leo? What's wrong?"

Leo stops at the edge and pulls out his swords.

"Farewell. It was... truly an honor." He says and then goes ahead to catch up to Annie.

"H-hey! Leo!" Hanji yells after him but Erwin grabs her.

"Let him, Hanji." He says. "He's protecting the Levi Squad."

"He's got balls. I'll give him that." Levi says as Hanji just stands in total confusion and then blue smokes are fired up. Leo flies through around the trees, not having the slightest clue about how to get into and out of the fight with Annie.

'Am I... What the fuck am I doing?! Why am I risking my life... for Eren?!' Then suddenly a green smoke is fired up close to him. 'Oh, that's the Levi Squad. They are probably signaling for the captain.' But then another green smoke is fired up. 'What? Two? Wait. So... that means...' Leo's eyes widen in shock as he gets close to the location of the first signal. 'Annie was the first one! Clever girl.'

Annie sees the signal fired by the Levi squad. She throws down her pistol and gets out her swords.

'This should be easy.' She is ready to take off but then she hears someone closing in on her. She turns around to see a line of smoke going behind the tree she's on. She then looks ahead and sees someone going around with their leg held up.

"Fuck you!" It's Leo, and he kicks Annie straight in the face. She falls down but she manages to save herself with her wires. She hangs in the air while Leo just watches her. He then looks back at the Levi Squad's signal and he knows he has to warn them. He takes out his pistol and checks the signal flare. "Black. Perfect!"

He holds it up and quickly fires. The Levi Squad sees it.

"Black smoke?!" Eren asks in shock.

"Wa-was that the captain?!" Oluo asks, making everyone feel worried. "The Female Titan got out?!"

They are clueless and don't know what do.

"What should we do?!" Gunther asks Eld. "Eld!"

"We let it up to him!" He says and that doesn't really suit well with the others.

"What are you talking about?!" Petra freaks out. "We must help him!"

"No, Petra!" Eld quickly shuts her down. "Are you forgetting it?! Levi is the strongest human alive! If there's someone who can handle that bitch, it's him!"

'Captain...' Eren keeps staring at the black smoke as it disappears but if he trusted the Levi Squad before and it paid off, he knows he can trust them again. But unfortunately, it's not Levi who is about to fight Annie.

"There. Now they know you are here." Leo drops his pistol down and pulls out his swords. "Are you ready to dance?"

Leo and Annie stare at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Annie knows he can't waste time now. She has to get out of this mess fast. She tries to go forward but Leo is quickly there and he almost slices her head open. Annie fights back but Leo blocks her attacks. They fly around, trying to find an opening, but it seems like it was Leo who underestimated someone this time. Annie tries to get away but Leo always goes ahead of her and cuts her off.

'Dammit! Why?! Why did it have to be him?!' Annie is getting a little frustrated but she knows she can't quit now. She has to get rid of Leo fast, without going into her titan form. Annie managed to hide her face from Leo. She still thinks Leo doesn't know who she is, and Leo is even pretending that that is the case. They fly around a bit more but so far, there's only been swords crashing together or missing completely. 

"Alright! I'm getting tired of this!" Leo yells and then starts screaming as he's giving everything he has. He charges towards Annie and crashes into her. He tackles her down to the ground and they both start rolling. They get to an area where it is an empty circle, free from any tree. They both lose their ODM gears but Annie is quicker than Leo and she immediately arms herself. "Huh. This... looks like an arena. How fitting." Leo laughs as he grabs his swords and starts putting his gear back on. Annie looks at him and Leo stops. They stare at each other, with Annie keeping the hoodie up and Leo just smiling at her. Annie turns around to leave but Leo shouts after her. "Where are you going, Annie?!"

Annie stops. She can't believe what she just heard. Leo referred to her by name. She can't believe it. She is dead frozen in place and starts shaking while Leo just smiles cockily. He doesn't feel any regret with revealing the truth to Annie. He knows that now Annie will have no choice but to fight him, making her lose more time. 

"You..." Annie starts whispering but Leo is able to barely hear her. He just patiently waits for what she wants to say. "Y-you..." Leo is losing his smile the more time passes. He is slowly reaching for his gear while keeping his eyes on Annie, who right now is filling up with rage and hatred. "You bastard!" Annie removes her hoodie and turns around. Leo almost has his gear on but then he is paralyzed by Annie's rage. He never though that he would ever see Annie this angry. "How... how could you? How could you?! You... you ruined me. You ruined me!"

"What the hell?" Leo quickly puts on his gear and gets his swords out. He doesn't understand what Annie is talking about.

"Your... spawn... You ruined me!" Annie is repeating herself and Leo can see that she is about to cry.

"What are you-- What in the fuck are you talking about?!" Leo stands up and takes a look at Annie. He can't figure out what she is referring to but he knows that it really doesn't matter. "Look! Whatever it is, I'm sorry! Or, you know what? Fuck that! I'm not sorry! I hope you feel miserable, you piece of shit!"

Annie then becomes silent. She doesn't shake, doesn't make a noise. Leo now becomes terrified and stands up. He is ready to move out of the way. He is expecting Annie to transform.

"I'm gonna..." Annie steps forward and Leo just slightly moves his foot ahead. "I'm gonna..." Leo holds up his swords and makes an x sign. He is prepared. "Kill you!"

Annie's yell doesn't scare Leo one bit. As a matter of fact, he strikes first. Annie and him collide and they start exchanging blows. They all get blocked though. Leo jumps up and spins in the air but Annie blocks those attacks, too. Leo rolls out of the way when Annie jumps up and tries to strike from above. Leo goes for her back but she does a back flip and gets over him. Leo manages to elbow her in the face and kick her away while he backs off with a flip of his own. They have a stare down and Leo motions with his fingers to bring it on. This angers Annie and she's the one to start attacking. Leo blocks a couple of hits and then he stands on Annie's knee and kicks himself upwards. He shoots both his wires on the ground and slams himself down onto Annie. The impact causes him to lose grip on his swords so he has to use his fists. Annie gets her head out of the way though and manages to make a cut on Leo's hand. He screams in pain but he quickly recovers. He reaches for his sword and tries to stab Annie but she rolls out of the way. Leo goes after her but she kicks the blade off the hilt. Leo keeps her away with the other sword and then gets on the defensive. Annie manages to cut him again, this time on the chest but Leo gets away quickly. He backs off to get some breathing room but Annie doesn't allow him. Leo groans annoyingly and then manages to kick Annie in the knees and then knee her in the face. She falls back and Leo quickly tries to stab her but Annie does a kip up and cuts Leo in his right eye. Leo bows down, blood dripping out of his socket. Annie stops while her blade is covered with Leo's blood, with a terrifying smile on her face. She feels relieved, knowing that this will lead to Leo's death.

"Reiner!" Bertholdt yells as he sees his friend make it back to the others. "Where were you? We've been looking for you."

"I'm fine." Reiner says as he pats Bertholdt on the shoulders.

"Both you and Leo were gone." Jean steps up to Reiner. "What happened?"

"They... We tried to go after them, but they were just too many of them." Reiner lies. Obviously. "We got seperated. I... I don't know where he is."

The entire group becomes terrified at the thought of Leo missing but Bertholdt is more concerned about what that could lead to.

"What... what do you mean you don't know?" Armin says.

"I'm sorry, Armin." Reiner shakes his head. "I wish I would."

'Leo...' Armin tilts his head down and he feels like screaming. He knows he should have told something to Leo but it was too late. 'Where are you?'

"You..." Leo is not ready for death just yet. Annie's smile quickly fades away when she hears Leo talking. "You bitch!"

Leo looks up and there's a huge cut across his eye but luckily, his actual eye is unscathed. He screams as he goes on the attack. Annie is so shocked that she can barely block it. It's true that Leo's right eye is still intact but the blood is making it impossible for him to see with it. Their swords crash together multiple times and Leo even tries to tackle Annie on the ground again but she sidesteps him and kicks him in the back. Leo swings back and misses her. Leo decides to push Annie towards a tree where she won't have the room to jump backwards. He shoots his wires at one and rams Annie into it with full speed. He is going for a finishing blow but Annie grabs it. They are pushing each other back and forth but Leo has one hand free while Annie is using both of her swords. He goes for her stomach.

"No!" She gets out of the way and Leo stabs the tree. This is a big mistake as when he forces the sword out and goes for a swing, Annie cuts his right arm off from the elbow down. Leo screams in pain as his arms flies up in the air and he gets kicked in the tree. Leo falls over on his knees, surrounded by the pool of his blood. Annie walks back a little to take look at what she's done.

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Leo is close to crying. He can't believe that he just lost his right arm. "Damnit!"

"You bastard." Annie says. "I'll let you bleed out. Won't take long anyway." She starts walking away but Leo becomes silent. She doesn't think about it too much until she hears laughter. She turns around and Leo starts laughing even louder. "What are you doing?"

Leo can't control himself. It's like he's a different person right now. Annie is actually becoming a little scared because she doesn't know what's gotten into him.

"So, you're just gonna... walk away? Is that it?" Leo laughs even more and then Annie sees the face of a defeated but desperate man. "Come on! Finish me!"

'This guy...' Annie can't believe what she's hearing. Leo is basically begging for his own death. 'I... can't become a warrior. Not with... this.'

She starts shaking in anger and then turns around and sees Leo with a smile on his face and with his eyes closed.

"How dare you?" She asks and Leo laughs in her face. He then sits with a blank, expressionless face. "Fine! As you wish!"

Annie holds up two of her swords and starts running towards Leo. When she gets close, Leo opens his eyes, smiles and quickly pounces forward. Multiple stabbing sounds occur.

"Commander!" The Levi Squad regroups with the scouts. "We made it. But something--" Gunther stops himself when he sees Captain Levi next to Erwin. "Oh. Captain Levi. You're here."

"It's so good to see that you're okay, sir!" Eren rides up to him.

"Told you he can handle it." Eld says with a smile.

"That's our captain!" Oluo says but Levi just gets up on his horse, feeling confused.

"What are you talking about?" He asks and he confuses his squad.

"What do you mean, captain?" Petra asks. "Didn't you fight the Female Titan?"

"Yeah. We saw you fire up a green smoke, then a black one." Eld says. Levi and Erwin look at each other as they both know what this means.

"Captain?" Eren doesn't understand why Levi acts strangely.

"That wasn't me." Levi says and the entire squad is shocked to hear that.

"What? What do you mean?" Oluo expects answers fast.

"He's telling the truth." And he is about to get them from Erwin. "It was a rookie. From the 104th Cadet Corps that joined us a month ago."

"What?!" The entire Levi Squad asks at the same time.

"You've got to be joking!" Oluo can't believe what Erwin is saying.

"It's the truth." The commander says. "It was a brave, young man named Leo Syxton." Eren is more than shocked to hear that. "I suppose, you two were close. Right, Eren?"

"I... wouldn't say. Sir." Eren doesn't have the slightest clue about what to think about this. Erwin finds it odd that those two were not close but he decides to not say anything.

"Don't expect him to come back." Erwin reveals his terrifying assumption and Eren's eyes widen. "Shame. He was very useful to us. May his soul find piece. We shall never forget him."

"Didn't expect that... huh?" Leo mutters as he is standing up with two swords being put through his stomach. He cracks a smile again. He stabbed Annie in the throat with his hidden knife. He knew he will have to use it someday. Annie is standing in front of him with her eyes wide. She can't believe that she got outsmarted and tricked this easily. "Now... I wonder." Leo lets go of the knife and grabs Annie by the back of her head. Annie is paralyzed by shock, she can't do anything. Then Leo pulls her in for a kiss. Their lips meet and Annie tries to pull away. She can't though and her hands start shaking. She then lets go of her swords and closes her eyes. She grabs Leo by the hip and Leo smiles in the kiss. He pulls away, with a line of blood connecting their lips. "Oh... that's right. I remember now." Leo chuckles and Annie opens her eyes to see a tear leave Leo's right eye but when it gets halfway, a drop of blood follows its path and goes through it. Leo laughs as he kicks Annie away and since the swords are attached to her gear, they are pulled off. Leo staggers forward but he manages to stay up.  Annie falls flat on her back with a shocked face that hasn't changed in the last thirty seconds. "Now, let's see..." Leo moves his hand across the wire of the controlling device and grabs the hilt. "If you can regenerate... a separated HEAD!"

He walks to Annie and goes for the neck but then it happens. Annie has no choice but to transform. Leo gets knocked back into another tree and he lies on the ground. The Female Titan appears and she is lying on the ground, looking up at the sky. She then sits up and looks at Leo. She growls at him but Leo stands up and looks at her. Annie roars in his face and grabs him. Leo laughs yet again as he knows that now he definitely achieved his goal. Annie lifts him up close to her eye and Leo looks straight into it.

"Stupid." He says and he throws the blade right into Annie's eye. Annie screams and when she stops, she angrily looks at Leo. He still has a cocky smile on his face but then she starts squeezing him and Leo throws up some blood. He is getting crushed and there is nothing he can do about it. He coughs up some more blood but then he gets thrown into a tree. He falls down and he doesn't make another sound again. He's lying in silent as Annie falls to her knees. She looks down at him and then lets out an enormous roar of anger and frustration. She knows she's been bested. Her emotions got the better of her.

'I... failed. I... failed. And it's all because of YOU!' Annie slams the ground and she is crying in her titan form. She then hears coughing. She looks up and sees Leo moving. Leo opens his eyes and sees tears in the Female Titan's one good eye. It is crying, which means Annie is crying. The two things Leo thought would never see again. 'How? HOW?!'

"You want..." Leo grabs the tree and slowly and painfully pulls himself up. "To kill me." He leans on the tree. "Do it, then."

Annie is now furious. She closes her fist and is ready to kill Leo but then she hears someone coming up behind him. She turns around and throws a punch at them but they were expecting it so they dogde and stab her other eye.

"I told you to be careful, Leo!" Leo has heard this voice before but he is too injured and messed up to remember. "Get out of here!"

"Easier said..." Leo coughs up more of his blood and falls on his knees. "Than done."

He lifts up his controlling device and he decides to shoot at Annie's hand. He gets lifted up and she feels the wire. She grabs it but Leo cuts it with a smile on his face. He gets thrown away but he still has time to give his middle finger to Annie, even though he knows she can't see it. He flies a few good meters before he inevitably hits a tree back first. He hears a loud crack and falls down on the ground. He can't feel anything from the neck down. He's completely paralyzed.

'What the... fuck?' This is it. This is the end for him, and he knows it. 'I... sacrificed myself... for Eren?! I really am crazy. But... to beat her... I had be a man who is willing to give up his own life. That's what happened. I did that... because no one... no one... is crazier than me!' Leo starts coughing but he is in so much pain, he screams and coughs at the same time. He throws up his blood and he feels like puking out his insides. 'I'm... I'm a shitty friend. I didn't even bother... to say goodbye to them. I knew... even yesterday... that I'm dying today.'

"A... Ar... min..." He can't even speak. There's so much blood in his lungs. Breathing is getting more and more difficult and his vision is getting blurry. "I... I'm... s... so... rry..."

He never had a chance to tell him. That's not true. He did. He lacked courage to do that. He told to someone, but it was the wrong person. Then he got blackmailed because of that. He is regretting now telling it to Mikasa but he regrets something else too.

'Why? Oh... I know now...' Leo wanted to protect Eren, to keep Armin happy. To keep his love satisfied and to see him with joy and hope on his face. But sadly, he won't be able to do that anymore. Leo laughs once again, for the last time, and he falls over, as every strength in his body leaves him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 22 preview: He succeeded. He foiled the warrior's plan to capture Eren Yeager. But at what cost? Was it worth it? Unfortunately, there is no time to dwell on that. Leo's gone but things are just starting to become more complicated, and Karl suddenly finds himself in the middle of all of it. He heard what happened to Leo. He only wants one thing, and one thing alone: Revenge.
> 
> Chapter 22: A New Blood


	22. A New Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, just a few things I have to say here.  
> 1\. Sorry for the months of delay. I didn't have a lot of time or motivation to write, so sorry about that.  
> 2\. It's actually been two years since I started writing this. It's incredible.  
> 3\. This chapter was supposed to be way longer but I decided to make it shorter.  
> 4\. Merry Christmas! This is my present for all of you.  
> Enjoy!

The formation is redeployed. The scouts are heading back to Karanes. The Levi squad is riding with Erwin this time, who's not feeling anything about what happened in the previous hours. Levi though is concerned. A little.

"So, that's it, huh?" He asks as he looks at the forest they are leaving behind. "We just let the one person who could help us bring the traitors into the light run into his own death. I don't know about you, but it seems like the titans are at an advantage here. Or am I wrong?"

"We made a choice." Erwin answers without looking at Levi. "We just have to wait and see if it was the right one."

Levi looks back at his squad riding behind him.

"Short term, I think it was." He says as he faces forward. "I mean after all, he did protect Eren and my squad. But that begs the question. Do you think he survived?"

"I doubt it, but who knows? He could be a lot tougher than we give him credit for." Erwin says. "But I don't expect him to just walk through our door casually with a smile on his face."

Eren is too far away from them to hear anything but he is worried. He looks back at the forest and wonders about Leo's actions.

'Why did he do that? It's out of character for him.' He then remembers back to that moment when Leo smiled at him just before heading off for the expedition. 'What was that about, too? Did he... Did he know he was going to die? Leo, you are even stranger than I ever imagined you to be.'

"We have to go back! He's still in there!" Connie screams out. "I mean, are we seriously going to leave him behind?!"

"He's right! We can't leave him! He's our friend!" Sasha yells, too but the squad leader couldn't care less.

"Shut your mouths!" He yells at the two. "We are heading back! That's the commander's orders!" 

"But..." Connie wants to try again but he's been trying for the past five minutes. No one is turning back, even though they want to. However, it's too dangerous, and they know it. "We can't... we..."

Meanwhile, Reiner and Bertholdt are riding just in front of Connie and they've been listening to him begging. Bertholdt notices that there's something wrong with Reiner and he fears the worst.

"Connie! Listen!" Reiner shouts. "Aren't you forgetting something?!" He then turns around to look at Connie. "Leo's strong! Really strong! Do you really think a few titans will cause a problem for him?!"

"Y-you... you mean..." Even Sasha is in tears, too.

"Yes! He's fine!" Reiner then faces forward. "He's a soldier! With a big heart and true spirit! If there's one of us who can make it out of there alive, it's him!"

Bertholdt just stares at Reiner as he's listening to him. He can't believe that this is happening again. Reiner's not the same. Ever since they started playing the true, loyal soldier. It seems like Reiner believes that he  _is_ a soldier. It breaks Bertholdt's heart every time it happens. And now Leo's gone, and he has no idea what happened.

"Damn it." Jean is on the brink of crying too and Armin is riding on Leo's horse, Star. Every time he will look at him, he will be reminded of Leo. Not that he needs something specific to remember him. "Do you believe Reiner's words?" Jean asks Armin and he just looks at him with a hopeless expression.

"I-I... I..." Armin tilts his head down as a tear leaves his eye. "I'm sorry, Jean."

That is not what Jean wanted to hear. He tries to hold his anger back but he can't and lets out an angry scream which is heard by the entire platoon. Everyone is deeply scared by this. The one person who was a driving force to them, someone they could follow into the deepest valley, is no more. He was a comrade, a friend to them, and to Armin, he felt Leo was someone special, someone he deeply cared about, but to this day, he doesn't know what his exact feeling are about Leo. He never could figure him out. Never.

The life of a Military Police officer is not that hard. Dealing with humans is a lot easier than keeping the walls intact or killing titans. But humans can be dangerous, too. At least, if it was five years ago. Today, people are more focused on spending their time with their families and loved ones, waiting and praying for the victory of humanity. With that, just like previous years, there are a lot of people from the top tens who joined the Military Police, but not by much, considering that the 104th's southern division only had Annie joining. Karl, from the northern division, is also in the Military Police. After reuniting with Leo and then going back to where he was supposed to be, he thought Leo would be joining him. He had his concerns after their last talk, though he never doubted their reunion happening again. Sadly, it didn't happen, and Karl doesn't even know that Leo didn't make it back.

"It's been a while since his last letter." Karl wonders as he sits on his bed, looking at the ground. He moves his hand through his messy hair and sighs as he stands up and walks to the window. "I hope nothing's wrong."

Karl looks through the window and sees nothing but a rich and healthy society. That's Stohess. One of the richest, if not the richest district. Everywhere you go you can see that a lot of effort and money went into the fanciness. It's not much but it does look better than that wretched neighborhood where Leo and Karl grew up together. Karl wishes that Leo was there with him. But maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

"Hey. Karl." Marlo suddenly opens the door. "Get ready. We are supposed to gather downstairs in five minutes."

"Oh... Okay." Karl nervously nods his head. "I'll... be there."

"Is everything okay?" Marlo gets a little concerned. 

"What? N-no, no, just... had a rough sleep. That's... all." Karl can barely hide his feelings and he doesn't even realize that he accidentaly revealed to Marlo that something _is_ wrong but Marlo knows he doesn't have the time to ask anything about it.

"Well, okay then." He says and then closes the door. Karl just stares forward at nothing and he then just lets out a sad sigh and gets changed into his uniform. He walks outside to the hallway and walks down the stairs, rubbing his eyes and yawning. The other rookies are standing in a line next to the wall. Karl walks next to Hitch.

"Well hello there, cutie." She says in a teasing way. "Had a good sleep?"

"Hey, Hitch." Karl responds, ignoring the tone Hitch greeted him with. He yawns again and just stands in line, waiting for something to happen as Hitch chuckles. Then footsteps are heard from upstairs and then they are making their way down. It's Annie. She has a very strange look on her face. Karl swears that it's sadness he sees but he can't quite believe that since in the past month, Annie wasn't the most charmful girl to hang around with. She scares him, although Karl does find her a little attractive.

"Look who's finally awake. You looked so terrifying when you were asleep I didn't dare to disturb you." Hitch can't help but tease Annie. "Probably should have. Sorry."

"You've been pretty lacks in your duties recently." Marlo says and Karl is starting to feel a little concerned about Annie. She looks terrible.

"Look, Marlo. You've upset her." Hitch says in an annoying tone.

"She's antisocial, not upset." Marlo responds back.

"Knock it off, you guys." Boris speaks up as Annie steps in the line next to Karl who is just silently looking at her. "She fought in the battle of Trost before coming here. Which makes her the only one of us who's ever seen real action." Karl then looks in the direction of Boris and quietly chuckles. The others don't know that Karl was there, too. When Karl got back, he said he didn't fight in the battle but was helping the wounded. But to this day he wonders why he lied. "She's just been through hell. Probably takes time to readjust."

"Aaah, so, you have a crush on the new girl, huh?" Hitch laughs. "What can you possibly see in her?"

"I don't know Hitch. Maybe it's that she got into the MP based on skill, unlike some I can mention." Boris obviously refers to Hitch and she knows that.

"Oh. I don't know what you are implying. Why don't you clarify?" She sounds annoyed and Karl finds it a little amusing.

"That's enough, you two." Marlo insists as a Military Police officer is making his way to them with a bunch of papers in his hand. The rookies salute, as they were taught to do.

"Great. Thanks, guys." The man says sarcastically. For some reason he doesn't like it when the rookies salute to him. They all find it a bit odd but Karl might have an idea on why that is. "I called you here because I've got actual work for you today. Not just the same old crap." Karl sighs in relieve as he is delighted to hear that. "I'ts got something to do with the scouts being summoned to the capital." Hearing that, Annie looks up and this makes her to actually pay attention, and Karl's heartbeat speeds up a little. "Sometime today, they will be passing through town along the main street. HQ has already provided the security detail, so we're only being asked to assist until the convoy is clear. ODM use in city limits has been authorized. You'll follow beside the convoy as additional security. There's a barge waiting to take you to the starting point. Dismissed."

After being the only one who kept saluting, Marlo lowers his arms while Karl is getting anxious.

"U-um, sir?" Karl hesitantly speaks up. "Can I... ask you something?"

"Go ahead." The officer says without even looking up from his papers. 

"Did you hear anything about the... scouts' latest expedition?" Now the officer looks up with one eyebrow raised. "It's just... my friend's a scout, and I haven't heard a word from him yet. I'm just... wondering."

The two stare at each other for a while. The officer is relatively calm, while Karl is expecting to hear the worst.

"Not much." The officer says. "I just heard they took a big hit, and Eren Yeager is being summoned to the capital for trial. Maybe there's a good reason why you're not hearing anything from him." Karl, after hearing that, is getting more and more nervous. He is close to a meltdown. "Could be dead, or seriously injured. I don't know. It's not my problem."

"Sir, I have a question, too, If I may." Marlo says while Karl is just trying to stay calm as hard as he can, while Annie doesn't even bother to even look at him. She just can't bring herself to see the look on his face.

"What is it?" The officer asks after a loud and annoyed groan.

"What exactly are we supposed to protect this convoy from, sir?" The officer is visibly surprised by that question and Marlo gulps nervously. "It's just that I've never heard of anyone defying the government. They're just glad to be safe. There are petty criminals, sure, but I find it hard to imagine any actual organization existing within the wall that would attempt to strike. I mean, what possible motive they would have?"

Annie sends a quick look towards Marlo but in the process, he sees Karl's face. He is confused, and he's just hoping that Leo is safe. Sadly, he has to be prepared for the worst.

"Man, aren't you serious?!" The officer raises his voice as he steps closer to Marlo. "You can be in charge of this!" He then shoves the papers into Marlo's hands. "Everything you need to know is right in here." He then starts walking towards a door but just before opening it, he looks back at Marlo. "We officers are busy enough as it is. Prove it that you can handle this one yourselves." He opens the door but then looks back one last time. "Oh, and you better not screw it up. Got it?" He finally steps into the room with a bunch of other officers who are drinking and playing cards. "I'm sorry, back to business. Whose turn was it?"

The door closes and the rookies are left completely shocked and dumbfounded. The officers are not busy, they are lazy, and that is what Karl was afraid of. That's why the officer doesn't like the salute. He doesn't care. They don't care. Leo warned him about this three years ago, just before they joined the military. Karl didn't believe him. He always took Leo for a conspiracy theorist but now, everything Leo said is becoming closer and closer to the truth with each passing day.

 

The scouts had a rough time walking through Karanes after returning. Not only they had to return after a failed expedition but the blatant insults of the locals didn't help either. Some even pointed out that they are wasting paying taxes for these 'worthless fools'. Eren didn't even let that slide. He was arguing loudly with the people and it was hard to keep him down. Mikasa, the Levi Squad and even Levi tried but it was Armin who finally moved up to him and managed to calm him down. Eren just hesitated enough to see the two kids he saw before they left. The pure joy and amazement in their eyes reminded him of himself. He was like that once, a long time ago. Erwin just wants this day to be over. He knows he will have to answer for a lot in the coming days so he just wants a nice, long rest alone in his office. He closes the door and takes off his cloak. He throws it on his desk and sits down on his chair with a sigh and leans on his hands. He stares at his desk for what feels like minutes before he leans back in his chair. He then suddenly feels something awkwardly touching his lower back. He reaches down and he finds a letter hidden in his pocket. He pulls it out and unfolds it. He starts reading it and is shocked to find out who it's from, but he can't get to the end of it because his door opens.

"I thought I said that I want to be left alone." Erwin says as he looks up from the letter and looks at the man setting foot in his office.

"Yes, but I couldn't care less." Levi says and closes the door while Erwin regrets not locking it before. "Hard and long day in the office, huh?"

"Just another day." Erwin continues reading the letter, ignoring Levi walking up to his desk.

"What's that?" Levi asks but he gets no answer. "What? You've got a secret admirer, or something?" Erwin doesn't say anything as he is too focused on the letter. Levi then just sighs. "Fine. Have it your way. Clearly it's not something you want me to know about."

"Levi." Erwin speaks up just before Levi was about to leave. "You might want to read this." He then holds the letter out to Levi. "Seems like... this Leo guy was a lot smarter than we gave him credit for." Levi just raises his eyebrow in confusion and he walks back to the desk and takes the letter to read it. After he finishes it, he just quietly and gently folds it and puts it on the desk. The Captain and the Commander stare at each other in silence and Erwin cracks a half smile. "Do you still think I made the wrong choice?"

"Whatever." Levi sighs and rolls his eyes as he turns around and walks back to the door. "Can we trust it? Could be a trap."

"This is all we've got and he already proved himself to be valuable. It's worth a gamble." Erwin puts away the letter into his pocket as Levi turns back to look at him once more.

"But if it turns out to be a trap, don't look at me like I didn't warn you." He then closes the door as Erwin chuckles.

 

"The escort wagons are scheduled to pass through the outer gate in forty-five minutes." Marlo informs the others. "Once we arrive, everyone take up your positions! Got it?!"

"Yeah, yeah." Hitch answers and Karl just sighs as he is too occupied with thinking about Leo. Hitch yawns and stretches her arms so she doesn't see that Marlo stopped and she bumps into him. "Hey! Watch it, bud!"  She gets pissed off at Marlo but then she sees why he stopped. "What's going on?" There's a merchant with  two Military Police officers standing next to boxes with the MP insignia on them. "That's our gear."

"Shipping it to the interior?" Boris guesses.

"Isn't it a bit strange having a merchant conduct the transport? What are they up to?" They wait and watch as the merchant turns around and holds a little bag out to the officers. The bag rattles like it's got money in it and sure enough, the officer pulls out a coin from it, making it obvious what's going on. "Are those bastard illegally selling government property?!"

Marlo gets angry and he starts walking up to them as the others just stand around.

"Hey! This isn't our assignment!" Boris quietly shouts after him but it's no use.

"Look at him. He's seriously the real deal, huh?" Hitch holds back her laughter.

"Well, I suppose we have time to spare." Boris says with crossed arms. "I bet this will be entertaining."

Karl and Annie just quietly stay back. They don't say anything and just patiently wait for what Marlo is about to do. Karl starts wondering about what Annie said earlier, about people going against the flow. He doesn't know Annie, nor the things that were going on in the southern division of the 104th but his guts is telling him that she was talking about the likes of Eren Yeager and Leo Syxton. He's not sure why he thinks that but as far as he knows, Leo  _would_ be someone to not bow down to authority. He even recalls the look on Annie's face while she was saying those things. He looks at her and she notices him. Their eyes meet but Karl doesn't look away. Annie is getting annoyed but just when she is about to say something, things start to escalate.

"Wait! Hey!" Marlo shouts at the leaving officers after he failed to properly call them out on their crime. He runs up to one of them and violently grabs him by the shoulder. "What you did was against the law!"

This was a mistake, as the officer's partner catches Marlo off guard and smacks him in the stomach with his rifle. Marlo leans forward and then collapses after he is hit again, this time on his back. He coughs a little as the others just watch in shock. He then gets kicked and Hitch flinches as the sound of the impact was really nasty. Marlo then gets beaten up more and more, and his mates are not doing anything. Karl and Annie then look at each other again and after Karl sighs and nods, they both start walking towards Marlo.

"Hey. Wait." Boris tries to stop them to no effect.

"You're under arrest for a treasonable offence against an officer." The officer laughs.

"Blatant disregard..." Marlo is trying to breathe properly but it's very hard for him. "For the rule of law--" 

"Is standard procedure. So is this!" The officer lifts up his rifle and wants to hit Marlo again, but Annie grabs the officer's arm while at the same time Karl pulls Marlo away.

"He's had enough, don't you think, sir?" Annie asks, staring down the officer who is clearly not happy with her actions.

"So sorry about that, fellas. I hope our idiot hasn't caused you too much trouble." Hitch runs up to them, too and Marlo is confused about what she is saying. "We'll be sure to drive the lesson home, don't you worry. Unless, of course... you'd rather have... a much bigger problem on your hands."

Hitch looks to the left where there are a group of bystanders watching them. Things would get a lot worse if this escalates even further.

"Just this once." The officer knows this as he says this after clearing his throat, admitting that this is not worth the trouble.

"Sir!" The cadets shout and the officers start walking away.

"So... about that drink." The officers try to act like nothing has happened as Hitch and Karl sigh in relief.

"Yeah. I worked up quite the thirst." Marlo is still shaking in anger and grinding his teeth but then he stops when looks at his rifle. He starts reaching for it with his shaking hands.

"Don't." Karl says and Marlo stops. "It's a bad idea. Not worth it."

Marlo is still shaking. He wants to do it, but he knows that Karl is right.

"Are you kidding me?" Annie speaks up and by her tone, Karl realizes that she does not agree with him. "Isn't making the dishonest pay for their transgression your goal?" Karl frowns at Annie who is just staring at the two officers. "I'm not entirely opposed to helping you out in that."

Marlo starts shaking again and his hand is getting closer and closer to the rifle. Karl wants to step in but he is confident in Marlo doing the right thing and backing down but the closer his hand gets to his weapon, the more scared Karl gets. Just about when Karl decides to stop Marlo, he lets out an angry sigh and takes away his hand.

"Damn it!" He slams his fist on the ground as the two officers casually walk away.

"Hey, little lady. You working hard or hardly working?" A man asks Hitch.

"You boys are all the same." She laughs. They don't really care about Marlo at the moment. Karl just rolls his eyes at the sight. He finds this whole situation awkward and pathetic.

"Those people you know. The other fools you mentioned." Marlo talks to Annie. "Would they have done it?"

Annie takes a moment to answer.

"They might have." This crushes Marlo and makes him feel even more pathetic, while Karl is just silently listening, but he is trying so hard to not say anything. He has a lot on his mind, specifically one question, for Annie.

"I wanted to be brave." Marlo says. "To go against the flow. But when it comes down to it, I'm just another piece of scum getting swept away by the current."

"Not sure what to say about that." Annie takes a look up at the sky. "Maybe... that's just a part of what it means to be ordinary." The two boys are not sure what to make of that. "Simply going with the flow. Is that so bad? To some people, that makes you weak, but an ordinary person is all I want to be."

Annie finishes talking but Karl is still curious. He doesn't know if he should ask her or not, but he has to know.

"Hey... Annie?" He steps closer to her. 

"Hm?" She doesn't even look at him.

"Those... fools..." Karl gulps nervously. "Are you... at least, to some degree... referring to Leo?"

Annie continues to stare blankly at the ground, not even reacting to what Karl said. At least, not instantly, because the more time passes, the more she thinks about Leo and what happened to him. And also, that one 'accident'.

_"You know... you are charming... in your own way. I... think... I... might be... into you."_

"Don't you dare mention him again." Annie's furious tone is very noticeable. Karl knew he shouldn't have asked but this is not the reaction he thought he would get.

"Wh-what? I thought you two were--"

"What? Friends? Stop bullshitting yourself." Annie interrupts him and Karl doesn't see a reason to push her anymore. He sees that Marlo is about to ask about who Leo is but Karl signals to him with his hand to not do it. Karl finds this strange. He knows something is up but he just thinks he's ready for it, while in reality, he is far from ready. 

 

Armin is called into Erwin's office. He's not sure why, because there is no reason for the commander to call for a cadet, especially for him. Or at least, that's what Armin thinks. But this is perfect timing because he wanted to share his theory over who the Female Titan could be. He is led to the commander's office by Mike in silence. He is sweating nervously.

"This is it." Mike says. They stop by the door and the scout knocks on it.

"Come in." Erwin is heard from inside. The door gets opened but Armin leans to the side to get a sooner look at Erwin.

"Arlert is here, sir." Mike says.

"Thank you, Mike." Erwin says, looking at the piece of paper on his desk. Armin walks in the room and Mike closes the door, leaving the two alone. Armin nervously walks up to Erwin's desk and salutes.

"Y-you called f-for me, sir?" He asks, a drop of sweat going down the side of his face. 

"Yes. Please, take a seat." Erwin motions towards the chair in front of the desk. Armin hesitantly sits down. "I guess you're wondering why I wanted to see you, of all people." 

"Y-yes." Armin nods. "I... do find it strange, sir. I don't know why you might want to talk to me."

Erwin cracks a small smile as he grabs the letter in front of him.

"First things first. I heard that you and Leo were close. Is that correct?" Armin gets a little nervous after this question is asked. 

"Y-yes." He nervously asks, with his head tilted down and his fingers crossed. Erwin sees that this is a sensitive topic.

"Listen. I know how it feels like to lose someone you care about. It's never easy." Erwin pauses to let Armin calm down a little. Armin hasn't been himself since the expedition. Leo was someone he always looked up to. Yes, he knew Leo was a jerk sometimes, but Armin was aware that all Leo wanted to do is keep everyone around him safe. Eren was against everything Leo stood for, and even though his best friend and his other close friend hated each other, he always cared for Leo. Even after Leo insulted Eren's mother. 

"I... I still can't believe it." Armin says quietly but Erwin is able to hear it. "Are you... sure he is..." Armin looks up at Erwin who keeps a blank face, but Armin knows that he must accept the fact that Leo is gone, and will never come back. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"For what? Feeling sad over the loss of a friend? Don't be ridiculous." Erwin then throws the letter in front of Armin. "There. I want you to read it."

"What's this?" Armin hesitates to pick up the letter.

"It's from Leo. He put this into my pocket when I wasn't looking, moments before he departed from us. To chase after the Female Titan." Armin is shocked to hear that and he immediately picks up the letter and starts reading it. When he is finished, he is lost for words. "Leo said that if we want to know more, we should talk to you. So tell me, Armin Arlert." Erwin puts his elbows on his desk and leans on his hands. "What do you know? Tell me everything, and then we can bring these traitors out into the light and keep humanity safe."

"O-okay. But... I'm still not sure." Armin still doesn't want to believe what he knows about the identity of the Female Titan.

"I trusted Leo, and he trusted you. That means I should trust you, too." Armin looks up at Erwin and they stare into each others eyes. Armin then takes a deep breath and starts revealing his theory about the identity of the Female Titan.

 

"Regardless. If you still choose to say no to this request, then, at least in my eyes, that makes you a bad person." Armin says to Annie. They are in a dark alley and Armin wants Annie to help him sneak Eren out of the city. Annie looks back at him without saying anything. She then stares ahead. There's a tense silence between the two as Armin awaits the other's anwer. Annie then puts her weapon against the wall.

"Alright." Annie answers and Armin becomes even more nervous as he knows that the hard part is just now coming. Annie then turns around and puts on a ring without Armin noticing. "Let's go."

"Okay. Follow me." Armin is starting to sound a little confident, to at least hide his anxiety. He was told not to bring up Leo and so far, he didn't. It's hard, though. Armin desperately wants to know what was going on between Leo and Annie. They both start walking along the road after Armin checks around to see if anyone's around. Unfortunately, he doesn't look everywhere.

"Interesting." Karl sneaked up to higher ground where he heard the entire conversation. He heard Armin calling out to Annie and he couldn't help but to check what the two were up to.

'Armin, right? She is the one from back then. From Trost. She must know what happened to Leo. I must follow them.' Karl looks through the buildings around him. 'Better keep to the rooftops, but it's going to be difficult without a gear.'

Annie and Armin are carefully walking on the side of the road, doing their best to avoid as many officers as possible to not raise suspicion. Karl, on the other hand, is more than comfortable with following them on the rooftops. He is quite good when it comes to sneaking. When he was growing up, a lot of times he had to resort to stealing just to survive a day, so following someone undetected is kinda his specialty. The tailing goes on for ten minutes and the whole time Annie is prepared for the worst. She is afraid. She thinks that somehow Leo survived their encounter, since she never found his body. When that mysterious scout saved Leo, he disappeared and she couldn't find either of them. She started rampaging the whole forest, enraged with her failure to capture Eren. To kill Leo. To become a warrior.

"There they are." Armin whispers and Annie sees two people standing and waiting in front of them. Karl can't see clearly who they are but he has a pretty good idea.

"Took you a while." Eren says as the two blondes walk up to them.

"Sorry." Armin says, then the three of them look at Annie. Karl can't hear what the group is talking about and he doesn't want to risk getting noticed. He knows he has to be patient since he doesn't know what's going on. All he knows is that Eren is a shifter and that's it. He doesn't know about Annie's secret. The four former cadets then start walking again and all this time Karl is thinking about what's going on with the wagon they were supposed to escort. If Eren is not in it, then who is? Is the Military Police in on this? Or do they have a doppelganger? He's not sure, and he doesn't even have the time to think about that as Annie and company arrive to a set of stairs which leads to underground. Karl looks around and finds it strange that no one is around this part of town. It's awfully quiet. Karl has to climb down to ground level but when he does, he sees a few civilians hiding in the alley. Karl is confused and the civilians become scared to see a MP officer here.

"What's going on here?" Karl whispers while he hears the voice of Eren in the background. Unfortunately, he can't really make out what he is saying. The civilians are too scared to say anything. They don't know that Karl is just a recruit. "Answer me."

He demands an answer but he doesn't get one. Everyone is confused and Karl then looks up and he could swear to God that he saw a green cape on the rooftop. He starts climbing up the building and when he gets to the top, he is shocked to see the scouts on the rooftop. The scout closest to him is a member of the Special Operation Squad: Oluo Bozado. He sees Karl in the corner of his eye and looks at him.

"Who the hell are you?" He asks.

"I could ask the same from you." Karl fires back as he pulls himself up. "What the hell are you--"

"Get down!" Oluo almost shouts as he pulls Karl down.

"Quiet, Oluo." Petra says, then she notices Karl. "MP? Did Captain Levi drag an MP officer into this?"

"I won't ask again, kid. Who are you?" Oluo pulls Karl closer. He is visibly stressed. He was already stressed before, but now even more.

"I'm Karl. A recruit in the Military Police." Karl shoves Oluo's hand away. "What the hell is going on here?"

"There's no time to explain." Oluo says. "Just stay down and stay quiet."

"She doesn't want to go down there." Petra says as they are watching the situation unfold before their eyes. Karl doesn't understand what's happening but he decides to not ask anything again and he watches too. "I can't hear anything. Did she see through our trap?"

"Let's hope not." Gunther sighs as Karl becomes even more confused. Why is the Survey Corps here? Why do they want to lead Annie into a trap.

"Why? Why didn't I do anything then?" Annie asks the question from herself, rather than from Armin. She knows she's in a trap and that there's no going back now. Meanwhile, the whole time Armin was trying to avoid mentioning Leo but it seems like it wouldn't be a huge risk now.

"Annie, please!" Eren steps forward. "You've taken this joke far enough! Just tell us this is some kind of horrible prank! It's not too late! Come on! We'll understand! Come down! Let's talk!" He then walks up a couple of steps, panic written on his face. "You can prove to us that we're mistaken by walking down this stairs! Prove we're wrong to accuse you!"

"We both know I can't. Like I told you, I don't have the constitution for it." Annie is slowly accepting failure.

"Annie, stop!" Eren doesn't want to accept the truth. "We're talking about a matter of life and death!"

"Work with us, Annie!" Armin shouts at Annie, too. "We can reason this out like human beings!"

"Enough! I'm not listening to another word of this!" Mikasa steps forward, throws off her cloak and draws her blade. "No point."

"This is getting out of control." Eld draws his sword, too. "Be ready. We are probably going to fight her."

"You are going to pay for killing Leo! Do you understand me, titan?!" Karl hears this threat and he is shocked. Did he hear this right? Did Annie kill Leo? Karl almost faints as Annie laughs, surprising everyone around her. Her laughing is a rarity but this laugh is different. It's not the kind a person would want to hear. After she is done, she just looks at Armin.

"You know Armin, it's written on your face. You want to know what happened to Leo. Right?" She asks and Armin gulps in fear. "He liked you a lot, actually, and given this situation, I'm not really surprised. You are both the same. Emotionally manipulating people to get what you want." The Corps prepares for an attack as Karl is just barely able to breathe properly. "And even you take risky bets, and it seems like you've won it. But... I'm going to gamble, too. And here's my wage!"

Annie lifts up her hand to bite it but Armin knows what she wants to do and signals to the others to engage her. The civilians rush Annie and surround her. She doesn't have the time to transform as she gets grabbed from all sides and gets held down.

"We've got her!" Petra stands up but she jinxes it, as Annie opens her ring to reveal a blade and cuts herself. The blast of the transformation kills everyone around her and she instantly tries to reach for Eren but she misses him.

"Damn it! Now what?!" Oluo takes out his blades.

"Plan B!" Gunther shouts. 

"Petra! Get this kid out of here!" Oluo orders Petra and she then runs towards Karl, who is completely paralyzed.

"C'mon! Let's go!" She picks him up and takes him far away from the battle. "Here." She puts Karl down on the side of the road. "Run! Alert the others! I must get back to help my comrades!"

Petra is in a hurry so she doesn't notice that Karl doesn't even register the things that are happening around him. He's only focusing on one thing.

_"You are going to pay for killing Leo!"_

'Is Leo... dead?' Karl begins to tear up. He is trying to hold his emotions back. The only reason he's not screaming in agony is the sound of the destruction caused by Annie, but eventually, he gives in, and lets out a loud scream, filled with terror and agony. Karl's shaking and he doesn't know what to do. He's out of it.

'Why? Why did this have to happen?' Annie reaches in for Eren as she wonders about the things that led her to this moment. 'This is all Leo's fault!' She doesn't manage to grab Eren but she is determined to get him out of there. She angrily stomps the ground and then sees that Eren is in there, trapped between the caved in entrance and the hole she created. 'This is bad. I have to get Eren and get out of here. Fast.' Annie stomps though the ground a couple of times to box the three in. She then sees two people on each side running. 'You think you're clever? Think again!'

She viciously slams the ground and buries Eren under the rubble. She then sees Mikasa emerge from underground and the two go after each other. Annie grabs Mikasa but she quickly breaks free by cutting through Annie's fingers.

"I won't let you take him!" Mikasa yells at Annie as she flips forward to get her balance back. "Never!"

"Eren!" Amin shouts as he arrives to Eren's body. "Eren. Hold on. I'm coming."

Annie sees Armin trying to get Eren out from under the rubble and starts walking towards them but Mikasa, with an angry yell, tries to cut her down. Annie protects her weak spot, just in case, and turns around to hit Mikasa but she misses and slams her arm through multiple buildings. Fortunately for her, a falling rock manages to hit Mikasa. She falls down and rolls on the ground before lying still after the impact. Annie then focuses her attention on Eren and Armin.

"What the hell is Yeager waiting for?!" Oluo yells angrily.

"Screw it!" Eld grunts. "We'll do it ourselves! After her! She must not get away!"

"Got it!" The rest of the Levi Squad reply and go after Annie.

'I... What do I... No...' Karl is still trying to get a hold of himself, still trying to calm down. He can't believe it. Leo's gone, and there's nothing he can do. He thought of him as a brother, as someone he can rally on and look up to. All that, it's been taken away, by one person he thought was an ally of his. He stops sobbing as he hears the destruction caused by Annie. He gets filled with anger as he closes his fists and wipes away his tears. 'I need a gear.'

 

"Do you even hear yourself? We're talking about Annie." Eren can't believe the fact that Annie is the Female Titan. In the past few minutes, the Levi Squad, Erwin, Armin, Mikasa, Jean and he were discussing the identity of the Female Titan, but this is more like an attempt to convince Eren that Annie is indeed an enemy of mankind. 

"Eren. We are talking about the person who killed Leo, while he was trying to protect you." Mikasa speaks up.

"That's not the point!" Eren raises his voice, much to the annoyance of the others, but they let him speak his mind. "Yes. He did save me and my squad mates, I won't deny that. But still, would Annie really kill Leo, someone she trained with for three years?!" While Eren is talking, Armin is getting visibly frustrated and he is trying his best to not shout back at Eren. "She's not a monster. She would never do that. So stop trying to accuse her for something she did not do! That's not fair! She's one of u--"

"Shut up, Eren!" He couldn't hold it in. Armin shouted at Eren, with tears in his eyes. Eren is just as shocked as everyone, except Erwin and Levi. 

"Armin...?" Eren has never had Armin freak out on him like this in a long time.

"She did it. She killed Leo." Armin tilts his head down. "Why? Why don't you understand? His tears are falling down onto his legs, his body shaking. Mikasa caresses his back to comfort him as the others stay silent until Erwin lets out a sigh.

"Eren." Erwin pulls out the letter from his pocket and holds it up.

"What is that?" Eren asks and Erwin frowns at him.

"A letter, from Leo himself." The commander says. "He sneaked this into my pocket minutes before he left to defend you. In this letter, he identified the Female Titan to be Annie Leonhardt." Erwin looks at Armin, who looks up to look back at him. "This, is the evidence we have against her, and it is a strong one."

"What? Wait. How..." Eren is even more confused now. "How did Leo... How did Leo know about that?!"

"That shouldn't concern you." Erwin replies. "All that remains is the fact that we have to lure Leonhardt underground to capture her. This is a secret operation by the Survey Corps. We must not tell anyone. It would cause complications and panic."

"Sooo, we are going after her, then?" Oluo asks.

"Yes, we are." Levi replies before drinking from his tea. Armin and Erwin stare at each other in silence. Erwin did not tell the whole truth. Armin read that letter. The identity of the Female Titan is not the only thing Leo wrote about.

 

"Escort squad! Have a look! I'll hold this positon!" Nile orders Marlo's squad.

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Marlo shouts back and they take off to see what's going on. 

"This is insane!" Hitch shouts. "And both Karl _and_ Annie disappear?! This is just great!"

Hitch rants but Marlo doesn't add anything to it. They see smokes going up from the carnage but they still don't have a clear visual on what's happening but they do see a certain someone running on the road.

"There's Karl!" Marlo shouts. "Boris! Take the lead! I'll check on him!" 

"You got it!" Boris replies. Marlo lands in front of Karl who stops running.

"Hey! Where have you been? And where's Annie?" Marlo starts asking questions but Karl is too angry to reply to any of them. "Are... are you okay? You don't look so good." Marlo approaches Karl. A big mistake. "Karl? What are you--"

Karl then suddenly grabs Marlo and headbutts him, knocking him out cold.

"Sorry." Karl whispers through heavy breathing. He then proceeds to remove the gear from Marlo and puts it on himself. Meanwhile, Annie is trying to get away from the scouts. Karl hears her footsteps getting louder, so he knows he has to go now. 

'I'm going to kill Reiner.' Annie is furious in her titan form, even though she knew that this day would eventually come. She thinks all of this could have been avoided if Leo was kept out of this, and that is on Reiner. She chases after Jean and Armin, thinking she could swat them while she is making her way to the wall. Unfortunately for her, the same way she got caught in the forest, the capture cannons are waiting for her. 'Shit!'

The cannons fire and the wires wrap around her body tightly. She valiantly tries to grab Jean and Armin but they flip out of the way. The ropes are tight but they can't bring her down.

"Damn it!" Hanji shouts. "She won't go down!"

"Leave it to me!" Mikasa yells back and turns around to face Annie but suddenly someone goes past her. Annie sees who it is and instantly tries to punch him away but he gets out of the way and slams into her eye. Annie falls down on her back and then gets a net thrown on her. Everyone gathers around her as she is lying down motionlessly. Karl lets out a deep sigh and pulls out his swords from Annie's eye.

"Nice. And here I was, convinced that having a plan C was nothing short of paranoid." Hanji makes this remark as she is spinning the wire of the cannon in her hand. "Oh, Commander Erwin. You genius."

"Wait. Isn't he the kid I..." Petra recognizes Karl.

"I'll be damned." Gunther chuckles. "Didn't expect that from an MP."

"He only did one thing, but already proved that he is the most capable MP out there." Eld laughs, too.

"Well, you know, at least from those who are on our side." Oluo's inappropriate remark gets him Petra's elbow between his rib cage. "Ow! What was that for?!"

Petra doesn't answer, just rolls her eyes and sighs, while Hanji makes her way down to Annie, as Karl jumps off from her head.

"Thanks for the assist." Hanji says to Karl, who is too shaken to say anything. "And now, you. Do us a favor. Behave yourself." Hanji pats Karl on the shoulder as she walks up to Annie and puts a blade close to her one good eye. "Oh, calling your cohorts to dinner isn't an option. So let's not waste that lovely singing voice." Hanji has that crazy, obsessed look in her eyes that is enough to terrify even the coldest of individuals. "In fact, let's not waste anything. Oh, no, I'm going to read you like bullet trails. Every part of you has its own precious story to tell.

'This woman is almost as crazy as Leo.' Annie feels that her right arm is not secured well, so she uses it to break free. She lifts up her leg and kicks away all the cannons around her as the people on the ground have to jump out of the way.

"She broke free?!" Mikasa can't believe that Annie managed to get out.

"Damn it! We didn't have time to set enough traps!" Hanji rants as Annie starts running away, with the last of the wires falling off her. "Don't let her get away!"

The scouts and Karl go after Annie. They get close but then Annie turns around to slap them away, hitting the buildings around her in the process. 

"There's too much debris! We can't get close!" Eld shouts but that doesn't stop Mikasa and Karl. They both head straight for Annie's nape but she protects it.

"Mikasa!" Armin shouts after her but it's a little too late. Mikasa gets above Annie and then makes her way down but she doesn't notice Annie kicking towards her. When she does see it, it's too late but just before she gets kicked away, Karl pulls her out of the way and it's him that gets kicked away. He rolls on the ground for a few meters.

"Karl!" Jean shouts after him and Karl's bleeding from the head. He looks at the escaping Annie and just when everything seems lost, another transformation happens. The chase halts as Annie stops. Then, a few seconds later, the ground starts shaking. Karl doesn't take his eyes off of Annie, a mistake, which almost leads to his death, as Eren almost steps on him, but instead, Eren steps next to him and Karl gets knocked away as Eren, while angrily roaring, punches Annie in the face, knocking her into the building behind her.

"Eren!" Armin shouts, as he is relieved to see his best friend in his titan form, ready to battle.

"What the hell..." Karl tries to stand up but he is too dazed and he falls backwards. He breathes heavily as he is trying not to pass out. He looks to the right to see Eren chase after Annie.

"Karl?!" Jean heads down to check on the wounded soldier.

"Jean?" Karl coughs up a little of his own blood.

"Are you okay?" Jean kneels down next to him.

"Yeah... This is nothing." Karl answers and wipes away the blood from his forehead. The wound is nothing serious. "Go. I'll catch up with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go!" Karl raises his voice and Jean does as he says, with a nod of acknowledgment. Karl watches as Jean leaves. "You... seem to have changed." Karl has always been good at reading people, getting to know them. Only a few words, and he instantly figures out what kind of person he is dealing with. Sometimes he doesn't even need words, it's enough to just look at a person. "I... must go... now..."

Karl slowly gets up and starts walking towards the sound of the destruction caused by Eren and Annie. Karl is too dazed to use a gear, he can barely even walk, but he is conscious enough to see and acknowledge the carnage around him. Destroyed homes, countless of innocent lives taken away, there's blood everywhere. Everywhere Karl looks, it's like a bomb exploded. He then sees a little girl, covered in blood, with tears in her eyes, walking towards him. Karl is shaken up by this. Trost compared to this, it's nothing, because right now, he's not fighting. He is just another soul suffering through pain, in the carnage created by two titans. When the girl gets close to him, he extends his arms to help her, but she walks past him, without even acknowledging him. The girl is in too much shock. She is lost, and doesn't know where she is going, or what to do. Karl can't help her, he knows that. So, he carries on towards the battle, but when he does get there, it's already over. Karl is shocked to see he missed it. There are only two titan skeletons, and a bunch of scouts standing around them. But, there's one strange object, which Karl can't identify. He staggers towards it, as a couple scouts lay their eyes on him, like Jean and Armin. Karl eventually gets to that strange looking object but what he sees next truly shocks him.

"Wh-what?" It's Annie, stuck inside a huge crystal prison, away from the grasps of the Survey Corps, keeping them away from real victory. "N-no, no..." Karl starts shaking which then turns into a blind rage. "No!" He lifts up his sword and starts hitting the crystal, breaking apart the blade with each hit. "Damn it! Annie! Don't you dare do this! You owe me! Come on! Get out!" Karl has finally lost it. He is crying and can't control himself. "Leo was my best friend! He meant the world to me and you killed him! You killed Leo!" Karl slams the blade on the crystal and breaks it entirely. "Give him back! GIVE HIM BACK!"

"Karl, calm down!" Jean pulls Karl away, who is screaming in agony, and crying, as the others just watch in silence. Karl collapses onto his knees in Jean's arms and even Jean sheds a tear, too. He agrees with everything Karl said. He feels this was all for nothing.

"Someone get me a wire net!" Hanji shouts. "This thing belongs deep underground!"

"Understood!" The scouts reply and they head off to get the wire net. Karl is still crying, and Jean tries to comfort him. There's nothing that would calm Karl down, though. Or at least, not in the simple comforting way. Karl now wants only one thing: revenge. The sadness he felt, now has turned into anger. Jean's eyes widen when he hears that Karl stopped crying. Karl opens his eyes and above Jean's shoulder, he sees Commander Erwin in handcuffs. He sees the leader of the scouts. The hope of humanity. His future commander.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 23 preview: Both Reiner and Bertholdt feel worried. Can Leo's words be trusted? Did he really not reveal their identities? Was he messing with them the whole time? Are they walking right into a trap? They'd soon get some answers when they meet two people from their past.
> 
> Chapter 23: Familiar Faces


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